A disgruntled tenderer, who lost out on a R500m contract for the expansion of Durban's Dube Tradeport, was given a judicial reprimand for making ‘spurious allegations’ against the Dube CEO and the company which was given the contract.

According to a News24 report, KZN High Court Judge Graham Lopes said in his ruling handed down yesterday: ‘The affidavits and heads of argument are replete with nouns and adjectives designed to impugn the integrity of both... when it was obvious there was no impropriety.’

He dismissed the application brought by Aqua Transport and Plant Hire against Dube Tradeport, its CEO Hamish Erskine and Rokwil Pty Ltd. What this means is that the second phase of the trade zone – 15 hectares of industrial land in a special economic zone – can now go ahead.

‘We are looking to get R10bn in private-sector investment,’ Erskine said. Aqua approached the court last year after it failed to score the lucrative 18-month contract for the construction of bulk earthworks. It wanted the tender award to Rokwil to be set aside and an order that all bids be reconsidered. An outside consultancy firm had done a ‘technical risk review and assessment’ on the bidders to establish risk.

In his ruling, Lopes said the involvement of the consultant did not indicate any impropriety in the process and, although bidders may not have known about it: ‘I would view this as a wise and considered decision on the part of Dube.’ He ordered Aqua to pay the costs of the application on a punitive scale ‘to express this court's disapproval’.

Full News24 report