Provision of MEDEVAC, General Aviation Support and Aerial Firefighting at BATSUB

CPV: Hire of helicopters with crew

Procedure method

Negotiated without publication of a contract notice

Legal basis

CELEX · 32009L0081 Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011 (Directive 2009/81/EC)

Procurement category

Services

Notice status

Awarded

Procurement threshold

Unspecified in notice

Regulatory regime

Standard

Commercial structure

Stand-alone contract (no framework)

Competition type

Competitive procedure

GPA / WTO covered

Unspecified in notice

Recurring procurement

Unspecified in notice

First published

5 Aug 2022, 10:35 BST

Last source update

5 Aug 2022, 10:35 BST

FTS notice number

2022/S 000-021520

Classification (CPV)

Hire of helicopters with crew

Delivery area

Belize (BZ)

Official registry OCID

ocds-h6vhtk-035938 Find a Tender

Why no open competition

No tenders or no suitable tenders/requests to participate in response to negotiated procedure with prior publication of a contract notice; The products involved are manufactured purely for the purpose of research, experiment, study or development under the conditions stated in the directive; The works, supplies or services can be provided only by a particular economic operator due to absence of competition for technical reasons

Published justification

1. The Authority intends to negotiate the award of a contract to Astrum Helicopters for the provision of MEDEVAC, General Aviation Support and Aerial Firefighting for British Army Training Support Unit Belize (BATSUB)
2. It is considered that this contract can be placed using the negotiated procedure without prior publication of a contract notice pursuant to Regulation 16(1)(a)(ii) of the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations (DSPCR 2011) as competition is absent for technical reasons. There is a regulatory requirement, as laid down by the Belize Department for Civil Aviation (BDCA), that an economic operator within Belizean territory must obtain and maintain an Air Operators Certificate (AOC) to carry out commercial activity. It is also the BDCA’s position that “foreign” certification (FAA/CAA/EASA recognised) is non-transferable. This certification must be in place by contract start date (1st October 2023). The process to start the certification application is triggered by a letter of intent from an economic operator to the Director of Civil Aviation in Belize, something which, due to the need for evidence of established processes for operations in Belize and cost implications, would be impractical and risk-laden to submit prior to contract award. It is likely that contract award will not take place until mid-2023. The current time-frame for certification is 12-18 months. The Authority cannot accommodate a break in service delivery as this will have a negative impact on training at BATSUB. MEDEVAC would have to be by land extraction, which does not meet medical planning guidelines due to risk to life (RTL) considerations. Ceasing training would also have a negative impact on the Authority’s ability to deploy personnel. There is a potential reputational risk if the Authority cannot deploy an Aerial Firefighting capability.
3. Astrum Helicopters carry the requisite certification from the BDCA and can begin service delivery by the required contract start date. It is the Authority’s belief that there are no alternate providers, either in Belize or elsewhere, who hold this certification and would be in a position to deliver these services by 1 October 2023.

Publisher note: With reference to Section V, dates and values have been added as this is a system requirement. For clarity, a contract has not been awarded. It is the Authority's intent to seek to negotiate a contract with the economic operator detailed as Section V.2.3

• Astrum HelicoptersAwarded supplier Belize City, BZ

No document links were published on the notice.