“He should confirmed his sources and put it in the paper,” Muna said, in response to Cruz’s allegation that the Fitial administration and CUC opted for a sole source procurement scheme for Aggreko as a favor to a local shipping company.
Cruz said Gov. Benigno R. Fitial and Muna failed to disclose the name of the shipping company and its agency that transported the Aggreko generators to Saipan.
“Now the questions are, how much was Marianas Express Ltd paid to negotiate and ship the containers? How much [did the governor] and CUC…got paid to ensure that this is the right choice for our homeland?” Cruz said.
Marianas Express Ltd. is a Tan Holdings company. Fitial is a former Tan Holdings executive.
Muna, in an interview, said Aggreko is paying for the shipment and CUC has no responsibility for the transportation of the temporary generating power.
“Aggreko is a private company and they contracted a shipping company that can give them value for shipping the generators to Saipan,” Muna told Variety.
Cruz said the recent Aggreko shipment of containers aboard a Tan Holdings cargo ship is “additional proof of cover-up and supporting our concern that the governor intentionally and deliberately ran our power engines aground oppressing the consumers into a full privatization, opening a window of opportunity to his known affiliation with Tan Holdings.”
Based on a contract signed between CUC and Aggreko on June 19, “the mobilization, installation, commissioning and demobilization of the plant shall be performed by Aggreko and paid for by Aggreko.”
“Transport from Aggreko’s Singapore depot to port of Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands and on its return from port of Saipan to Aggreko’s Singapore depot shall be performed by Aggreko and paid for by Aggreko,” the contract stated.
On Aug. 23, the first shipment of Aggreko’s infrastructure components for its generators arrived on island while the second shipment, containing some generators, arrived on Aug. 31.
The third shipment arrived on Sept. 6.
Muna said Aggreko will have six days to install the generators in Lower Base so that by Sept. 12, CUC will be able to have an additional 13 megawatts of power.
CUC is renting the generators for $6 million for 12 months.
