The Windward Islands Research and Education Foundation (WINDREF), based at St. George’s University in Grenada, has secured grant financing from the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund (CBF) to advance the transformative Telescope’s Living Shoreline (TLS) Project, a coastal resilience initiative focused on stabilizing eroding shorelines in Grenada’s Grenville Bay Area. As the project’s lead implementing agency, WINDREF has opened a prequalification round for contractors bidding to deliver the project’s core construction works, ahead of a full tender invitation expected in July 2026.
Located along the shores of Little Bay in the Telescope community, the TLS project centers on implementing nature-centered and hybrid shoreline stabilization measures to protect the vulnerable coastline from erosion and storm damage. While final design work is still underway as part of an ongoing parallel design review and optimization consultancy, the core construction scope is already outlined. The works will impact approximately 550 metres of coastal shoreline, covering activities including in-water and intertidal marine construction, installation of armour stone structures both onshore and offshore, excavation works and toe stone placement, coastal zone backfilling, temporary access road and stockpile area development with full post-construction restoration, and comprehensive quality control for all construction materials including boulders, structural blocks and fill sediment.
The prequalification process follows the formal regulations set out in Grenada’s 2014 Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property Act and 2015 accompanying regulations, and is open to all eligible contractors, whether applying as individual firms or as joint venture (JV) partnerships. WINDREF explicitly encourages regional construction firms to partner with international specialists in both grey and green infrastructure to meet project requirements, and particularly promotes joint ventures that combine local marine construction expertise with specialized global experience in ecosystem restoration.
To qualify, bidders must meet strict financial, experience and compliance criteria. For joint venture partnerships, the lead partner is required to satisfy at least 50% of the combined financial and experience requirements, with the full JV team required to meet 100% of all standards. Financially, bidders must demonstrate a minimum average annual turnover of EC$5.4 million (equivalent to approximately US$2.0 million), calculated over the top five years of the last seven full operating years, as well as verifiable accessible cash flow or credit lines totaling at least EC$1.1 million (US$400,000).
In terms of relevant experience, bidders must have served as prime contractor on at least two similar coastal or marine construction projects completed to at least 80% progress within the last seven years, with each project valued at a minimum of EC$3.6 million (US$1.3 million). Preference will be granted to teams that can demonstrate prior experience integrating Nature-Based Solutions (NbS) such as mangrove habitat rehabilitation, vegetation-fueled dune stabilization, or eco-engineered marine infrastructure into their work. Bidders must also provide a minimum of two professional reference letters from past clients for successfully completed similar projects, a signed declaration confirming no major environmental or social compliance breaches, regulatory fines, or project suspensions related to E&S non-compliance over the last five years, and documented proof of a dedicated Health, Safety and Environment (HSE)/Safeguards Officer with prior experience implementing environmental management plans in sensitive marine coastal ecosystems.
Interested contractors can request additional project information from co-project managers Kendon James and Carol Forbes between 8 am and 4 pm Grenada local time, Monday through Friday, via the contact emails listed in this announcement. All prequalification submissions must be prepared in English, delivered exclusively via email in PDF format (with a maximum total file size of 30MB), and received by 2 pm local Grenada time on July 20, 2026. The email subject line for submissions must follow the format: “[Company Name or Abbreviation] — TLS Prequalification Documents”.
WINDREF notes that the burden of proof for confirming successful submission receipt falls to the bidding party, and a simple read receipt or sent folder confirmation from the bidder’s email system will not be sufficient to confirm delivery. The organization also reserves the right to accept or reject any late submissions, cancel the prequalification process at any stage, and is not required to provide reasoning for any prequalification outcomes. WINDREF will not cover any costs incurred by bidders during the preparation and submission of prequalification materials.