The Mayor’s Office of Panama declared the public act for the construction of the new Seafood Market void. The project, which has a reference price of $43 million, has been the object of harsh citizen criticism due to the lack of citizen consultation, and because the need and viability of the work in an already developed area of the capital is questioned.
It should be noted that the capital’s mayor’s office completed all phases of the public call, despite the ruling of the Eighteenth Civil Court that revoked the agreement that authorized Mayor José Luis Fábrega to call the tender.
the public act was published in Panama Compra on April 24, and less than two months later, on June 22, the Municipality uploaded to the public contracting platform the resolution declaring the public act void due to lack of bidders.
The new Seafood Market, which is a flagship work of Mayor Fábrega, would occupy some 8,000 square meters that today are public recreation areas. According to detailed information in the statement of charges, it is a “turnkey” project; that is to say, that the same contracting party will be in charge of the planning, construction and qualification of the work. The turnkey contracts, regulated by the provisions of Law 6 of 2002 on Public Procurement, must be delivered to the State ready to be put into operation.
The public consultation for the approval of the project was carried out in November 2020, during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. That meeting was held at the headquarters of the community board of Calidonia, a corregimiento where the project would be located. It was attended by 25 people, two of whom are officials of the Mayor’s Office of Panama.
