As its bid for the Kongulai project was being evaluated, Rean/PCS was facing scrutiny for non-performance on four separate ADB-funded water treatment systems in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, according to court records from the joint venture’s unsuccessful appeal of the blacklisting.
A January 2022 “show cause” letter from the state-owned Madhya Pradesh Urban Development Company, included in the court records, noted that each of these projects was more than four years behind schedule and warned that Rean/PCS was at risk of being blacklisted by the state.
The company ultimately was blacklisted for two years in June 2022 — just a month after it was awarded the Solomon Islands tender.
The “show cause” letter was copied to ADB staff members, meaning that at least some staff had access to the material while the Solomon Islands bid was being evaluated. ADB declined to answer specific questions about the letter.
By August 2022, just three months into the project, Kongulai was already running dangerously behind schedule, according to minutes of meetings between Solomon Water and Rean/PCS.
That month, a Solomon Water manager told the board that Rean/PCS had been notified of three breaches of contract for failing to complete key tasks, including securing the insurance needed to build permanent structures, a copy of the report obtained by OCCRP shows. The board was told that it would be “impossible” for the contractor to meet its June 2023 deadline.