The High Court has dismissed a challenge to the fast-track tendering rules for Coastal Shield’s early works, ruling that the compressed process is lawful provided every stage remains “open, scored and published”.
The Independent Contractors’ Association had argued that six-week tenders for the first $800m of works favoured large incumbents with standing bid teams, effectively excluding smaller firms in breach of competition law.
Justice H. Merrow, writing for a unanimous three-judge panel, found the rules “tight but not closed”, noting that a quarter of early-works contracts by value carry mandatory subcontracting quotas for firms under 250 employees. The ruling upholds the procurement tribunal’s findings in full.
The association said it would not appeal, calling the subcontracting quotas “the consolation we will now hold them to”. The infrastructure ministry welcomed the judgment and confirmed the first tender results will publish next month, alongside the quarterly audit the Assembly attached to the programme.
The decision clears the last legal cloud over Coastal Shield’s opening phase — and, procurement lawyers noted, sets a precedent likely to govern the fast-track rules already being drafted for the national stadium and rail-upgrade programmes.