Zambians are tired of undelivered services by contractors – Mutati

Monday, June 21, 2010

Zambians are tired of undelivered services by contractors – Mutati

Zambians are tired of undelivered services by contractors – Mutati
By Chiwoyu Sinyangwe
Mon 21 June 2010, 04:01 CAT

COMMERCE minister Felix Mutati has admitted that there is a lot abuse in the construction sector as most contractors are ineffective and over-price public works.

He was speaking during a reception last week to announce the partnering of Flame Arab Constructors with Flame Zambia in setting up a US $10 million quarry cement batching plant and other supporting services for the construction sector in the country.

Mutati said the government was hoping that Flame Arab Constructors, an Egyptian company, would help introduce technology that would assist in lowering the cost of construction to the levels in Egypt.

He wondered why it cost US $150,000 to construct a one kilometre tar stretch in Egypt while constructing the same distance in Zambia costs US $1 million.

“Flame Arab Constructors should demonstrate that it would require around US $350,000 to construct a kilometre of tar road in Zambia...So, let’s bring in the people who are going to deliver for the people of Zambia at a cost-reflective price with good quality so that the competition, the abuse particularly in the construction industry with regard to pricing, to quality, to delivery, we can begin to eliminate it and chop it out,” said Mutati. “Our people, the Zambian people are tired of explanations especially from, particularly from the contractors of ‘why they are unable to deliver’.”

Flame Zambia chairman Mohammed Salama said the company would demonstrate good workmanship through the plant and would want to be engaged in more construction projects in Zambia.

Salama said the technical and financial support that the company expected to receive from Flame Arab Construction would help them reduce the cost of construction in Zambia.

“Through Flame Arab Constructors, we will be bringing down the cost of construction to more developments to happen using the same resources at hand; thus creating more employment and more projects,” Salama said. “We will achieve this by having our own quarry cement plant, which we think will help to reduce the cost of construction in Zambia.”

Salama said Flame Zambia had undertaken some substantial projects, including the construction of Finsbury building at the Kabwe roundabout and Radisson Hotel opposite Arcades shopping centre, in the last four years that the company had been operational in the country.

The company has trained 400 Zambians in various construction skills, and was contributing more to the sector.

And Flame Arab Constructors chairman Ibrahim Mahlab said the company, which achieved a turnover of US $2.5 billion and recorded a backlog of US $4.5 billion worth of projects last year, wanted to contribute to the development of infrastructure in Zambia.

Flame Arab Constructors is also set to train 20 Zambians in different construction skills at the Arab Construction Institute in Egypt.

Labels: CONSTRUCTION, FELIX MUTATI, FLAME ARABL CONSTRUCTION