Maravi

K1 trillion Mongu-Kalabo rd bid for bridges shocks govt

K1 trillion Mongu-Kalabo rd bid for bridges shocks govt
By Mwala Kalaluka
Thursday June 12, 2008 [04:00]

THE government has described as shocking a bidding claim by a Chinese contractor that the installation of 27 bridges on the controversial Mongu-Kalabo road project will cost over K1 trillion. Sources close to the team considering the bidding tenders on the project said two contractors - one foreign and another local - had submitted tenders to carry out the work but that the exorbitant bidding prices had stalled the process.

Ministry of Works and Supply officials told The Post yesterday that they were still scrutinising the two tender applications from China Geo-Engineering Corporation (CGC), who are quoting the K1.3 trillion and Sable Contractors who have pegged their costs for the project at around K600 billion.

The 27 bridges are to be erected across a 34-kilometre stretch of the road.
About K137 billion out of the total amount of K145 billion has so far been spent on the road project, where 41 kilometres of the road project had been developed to tarmac level on both sides of the Zambezi River in its initial phase.

Works and supply minister Kapembwa Simbao, who could neither confirm nor deny the issue, said he would comment on the matter later.

Sources said the two contractors had applied to undertake the civil works after tenders were floated following the arrival of the bridge components from China over a month ago.

"But the government felt that the pricing was something out of this world; they priced their bids too highly," the source said. "The government requested for more information on the pricing because there could be problems if the two bids were accepted. Really, there is nothing believable with what these people contractors are doing."
The source said the officials in the Ministry of Works and Supply could encounter difficulties in explaining the circumstances under which such a high-priced contract bid could be accepted.

"There would be a problem before Cabinet and even before Parliament to explain this," said the source.
Another source said the two contractors had in most cases abnormally overpriced their bid items.

The source said this was shocking, considering that a separate contract that was awarded to another Chinese company to procure superstructures for the bridges only cost K53 billion.
"The contract we are floating now is for civil works and this is what the contractors are charging against," said the source.

The 27 bridges are part of the new design on the Mongu-Kalabo road project, which has dragged for over four years now, following the washing away of vital installations on the road embankment across various flooding points in the Barotse Flood Plains.

Labels: MONGU, ROADS

posted by MrK @ 4:23 AM