Enterprise/Coldingen road works…Works Ministry slaps liquidated damages on contractor

Apr 23, 2013 News

Hemraj Garbaran, the contractor who has been tasked with rehabilitating the Coldingen/Enterprise access road, has failed to reach the stipulated deadline and according to Roads and Bridges Engineer, Khiraj Bisesar, penalties will be imposed.
Permanent Secretary in the Works Ministry, Balram Balraj, has ordered that liquidated damages be imposed. He also suggested that the Ministry move against the performance bond lodged by the contractor Hemraj Garbaran.

Roads and Bridges Engineer, Khiraj Bisesar.

According to Bisesar he was told that the works were not completed because of the unavailability of asphalt. However, it turned out that Garbaran refused to uplift his supplies. He had already paid for some 85 tons of asphalt.
However Bisesar said that the Ministry of Public Works will be imposing liquidated damages and the contractor could also face being barred from other contracts.
On March 12, last, Bisesar visited the area where the works are to be carried out with the aim of clearing up some issues which residents of the community had raised about the contract.
When the contract was awarded to Hemraj Garbaran in January, residents had stated that they do not feel that the money allocated was being wisely spent. Residents also claimed that the money was way too much for the ‘mediocre’ work that was being carried out in the area. Further residents went on to state that the works being carried out only values some $10M.
However Works Ministry Engineer, Mr. Bisesar told this publication that the $34.624 M contract would have covered a total of 1500 meters of road rehabilitation.
The Engineer explained that the Coldingen/Enterprise main access road project is to extensively rehabilitate sectional areas to a total of 500 meters by 4.3 meters wide. This he said would have been done in asphalted concrete.
“As you can see only certain patches are not in good condition hence we will do only those areas; that is why we are emphasizing sectional works.”
In the Housing Scheme network road project Bisesar said a 1000-meter section of road is to be rehabilitated.
The deadline for the completion of the work was April 9.