30-day defects liability period a mistake - Benn

30-day defects liability period a mistake – Benn

Aug 09, 2011 News

Bids for roll-on/roll-off facilities…

A 30-day defects liability period for a major, multi-million-dollar contract was in all likelihood a mistake and will be corrected, a government official said yesterday.
The period, considered low and questioned by at least one prominent engineer, was contained in the bidding documents for the construction of roll-on/roll-off facilities at the Parika and Supenaam stellings.
The bids were opened last Tuesday at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) office, Ministry of Finance, Main Street.
Commenting on the 30-day defects liability period which is contained under the section “Special Conditions of Contract”, Minister of Transport, Robeson Benn, said it was obviously a mistake and could be corrected at the contract signing stage.
He believed that maybe the 30-day period could have been a typing error and maybe the intention was to have it read 300-days instead.
One option, the Minister said, will be to correct the mistake in the actual agreement that will be signed with the contractor.
Over the weekend, the newspaper had published a story on the strange 30-day clause.
The defects liability period has taken on heightened significance since controversy erupted over the construction of the Supenaam Stelling, which finally cost the country’s coffers half of a billion dollars ($500M), after a number of closures and delays due to structural problems.
The defects liability period following practical completion, is usually six or 12 months during which the building contractor retains liability under the building contract for dealing with any defects which are detected.
A prominent engineer agreed that it is highly unusual that only a month was allowed for the defects liability period when normally it is a year.
The Supenaam facility was dormant for months before being commissioned early last year. It was handed over to government with modifications being done. After opening to river traffic, it encountered structural problems, which resulted in its closure days after.
An investigation by independent engineers failed to place singular blame on the designers, consultants, government agencies or contractor. Government ended up shelling out almost $70M more to ensure the facility was made operational.
Two new Chinese ferries are expected to arrive in Guyana before year-end to service the Essequibo River routes, and the projects at the two stellings are the necessary adjustments to facilitate vehicles to enter and leave the vessels.
According to the bid documents for the roll-on/roll-off ferries, a 60-foot by 60-foot pier will be joined to the existing one. A 77-foot linkspan bridge will then be attached which will allow for the ferries to unload. The ferries are said to include flaps at its bow and stern to allow the vehicles to disembark. These flaps will be resting on the linkspan bridge.
The linkspan bridge will be stabilised by a pontoon and there will be mooring piles and fender piles driven, as part of the project. Fender piles, usually one of a group, are set beside ferry slips and wharves to guide approaching vessels and driven so as to yield slightly when struck in order to lessen the shock of contact.
The same construction will be done at the Supenaam Stelling, except for the pier.
Last week, the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board opened bids for the construction of roll-on/roll-off facilities at the two stellings, with the government’s engineers estimating that it would cost in excess of $321M.

Bids for roll-off/roll-on ferries…

30-day defects liability period a mistake – Benn

A 30-day defects liability period for a major, multi-million-dollar contract was in all likelihood a mistake and will be corrected, a government official said yesterday.

The period, considered low and questioned by at least one prominent engineer, was contained in the bidding documents for the construction of roll-on/roll-off facilities at the Parika and Supenaam stellings.

The bids were opened last Tuesday at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) office, Ministry of Finance, Main Street.

Commenting on the 30-day defects liability period which is contained under the section “Special Conditions of Contract”, Minister of Transport, Robeson Benn, said it was obviously a mistake and could be corrected at the contract signing stage.

He believed that maybe the 30-day period could have been a typing error and maybe the intention was to have it read 300-days instead.

One option, the Minister said, will be to correct the mistake in the actual agreement that will be signed with the contractor.

Over the weekend, the newspaper had published a story on the strange 30-day clause.

The defects liability period has taken on heightened significance since controversy erupted over the construction of the Supenaam Stelling, which finally cost the country’s coffers half of a billion dollars ($500M), after a number of closures and delays due to structural problems.

The defects liability period following practical completion, is usually six or 12 months during which the building contractor retains liability under the building contract for dealing with any defects which are detected.

A prominent engineer agreed that it is highly unusual that only a month was allowed for the defects liability period when normally it is a year.
The Supenaam facility was dormant for months before being commissioned early last year. It was handed over to government with modifications being done. After opening to river traffic, it encountered structural problems, which resulted in its closure days after.

An investigation by independent engineers failed to place singular blame on the designers, consultants, government agencies or contractor. Government ended up shelling out almost $70M more to ensure the facility was made operational.

Two new Chinese ferries are expected to arrive in Guyana before year-end to service the Essequibo River routes, and the projects at the two stellings are the necessary adjustments to facilitate vehicles to enter and leave the vessels.

According to the bid documents for the roll-on/roll-off ferries, a 60-foot by 60-foot pier will be joined to the existing one. A 77-foot linkspan bridge will then be attached which will allow for the ferries to unload. The ferries are said to include flaps at its bow and stern to allow the vehicles to disembark. These flaps will be resting on the linkspan bridge.

The linkspan bridge will be stabilised by a pontoon and there will be mooring piles and fender piles driven, as part of the project. Fender piles, usually one of a group, are set beside ferry slips and wharves to guide approaching vessels and driven so as to yield slightly when struck in order to lessen the shock of contact.

The same construction will be done at the Supenaam Stelling, except for the pier.

Last week, the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board opened bids for the construction of roll-on/roll-off facilities at the two stellings, with the government’s engineers estimating that it would cost in excess of $321M.