A public infrastructure rehabilitation project for two major Surinamese streets has been bogged down in months of delays, and lead contracting firm Aannemingsmaatschappij Baitali N.V. (AMB) is pushing back against growing public and political criticism, placing full blame for the holdup on the Surinamese state’s slow and non-compliant handling of a 2025 court ruling.
The dispute dates back to July 10, 2025, when a summary proceedings court ruled that the government had incorrectly disqualified Baitali from bidding on the Van ’t Hogerhuysstraat and Slangenhoutstraat rehabilitation project. The court ordered the state to revoke its original award of the contract to a competing firm, halt all ongoing work on the project, and conduct a full re-evaluation of Baitali’s bid in line with the ruling.
In a detailed press statement released this week, Baitali outlined that state authorities took nearly six months to act on the court’s order. The results of the mandated re-evaluation were only shared with the firm on January 5, 2026, almost half a year after the ruling was issued. Just two days after receiving the re-evaluation outcome, Baitali filed a formal written objection challenging the methodology and conclusions of the state’s review. The company did not receive a formal invitation to negotiate the dispute until April 29, marking another nearly four-month wait for a response from authorities.
“Of the roughly ten months that have passed since the court issued its ruling, almost the entire period has been spent waiting for the state to take action,” the company said in its statement.
Baitali further argues that the state’s re-evaluation process directly violated the terms of the court’s order. According to the firm, the Ministry of Public Works re-opened deliberations on specific bid components that the court had already ruled on, rather than limiting its review to a reassessment of Baitali’s bid that respected the court’s original findings.
The company also pushed back against growing public claims that it is responsible for the lack of maintenance and repair work on the deteriorating Van ’t Hogerhuysstraat, a heavily used public roadway. Baitali emphasized that the 2025 court ruling never barred government authorities from carrying out emergency safety measures or temporary repairs to address the street’s declining condition. “AMB has never prevented the Ministry of Public Works or any other government agency from carrying out necessary repairs or safety upgrades to the road,” the statement noted.
Baitali also sought to clarify that the dispute is not a personal or commercial conflict with Kuldipsingh N.V., the firm that originally received the contract after Baitali was disqualified. The entire conflict, the company stressed, revolves solely around whether the public tender process was conducted fairly and whether the state is complying fully with the court’s binding ruling.
Amid the ongoing public controversy, Baitali confirmed that active, constructive negotiations are currently underway with the Ministry of Public Works to reach a resolution that unlocks the stalled project. The firm said it remains open to any outcome that upholds the terms of the court’s ruling and paves the way for rapid progress on the long-delayed street rehabilitation. For now, the company added, it will not make any further public statements on the details of the closed-door negotiations to protect the integrity of the talks.