Govt penalises Sinohydro over SSKIA delays

KEIKANTSE LESEMELA
Correspondent | Thursday March 21, 2013 00:00

 

The Minister of Infrastructure Science and Technology, Johnnie Swartz told Parliament recently that the government has called-up a retention bond for SSKIA worth P21.6 million and a performance bond valued at P43.32 million against the company. The SSKIA contract was cancelled last year July when it was 90 percent complete after the government accused the contractor of poor performance. The Chinese company has won lucrative construction contracts from government including the Dikgatlhong Dam and the Kang-Hukuntsi road.

The P550 million SSKIA expansion project was initially scheduled to be completed before the 2010 World Cup hosted by South Africa. The initial SSKIA expansion consisted of the construction of a new state-of-the-art terminal building and the extension of the existing runway to comply with the International Air Transport Association's (IATA) requirements.It is expected that the terminal will be capable of processing up to 900 passengers per hour, while the runway which was extended by a kilometre is now capable of hosting large aircraft such as jumbo jets. The new airport will have a new parallel asphalt taxiway running of 4km and 33 additional hangar slots.

In his Committee of Supply speech last week, Swartz told Parliament that government has retrieved P17.53 million from another Chinese company, Tuwana Construction after its contract to build the Francistown Stadium was terminated last year over poor workmanship.The minister said in addition to punishment for building and consultancy contracts for poor performance, some Liquidated and Ascertained Damages (LAD) penalties are levied on contractors in accordance with the provisions of the contract on the extent of failure to meet agreed completion dates. He said already P101 million penalty has been levied on 26 contractors so far for failure to meet completion deadlines.

He said interventions by the ministry target improved accountability in the construction sector. 'With regard to this, a number of new and amended Acts for various construction industry professions such as architects, engineers and quantity surveyors to facilitate self-regulation and protect public interest are being finalised by the ministry,' he explained. He said that while these interventions on their own will not solve all the challenges of the sector, they will ultimately lead to improved service delivery for the benefit of both government and the public.