IDA boss cautions contractors

By MATTHEW VARI

Wednesday, January 21, 2015 (Midweek)

CONTRACTORS taking major road projects in the country, mainly those of the Highlands Highway reconstruction and rehabilitation program, have been cautioned not to take on more than they can handle, in terms of contracts and resource commitments.

Infrastructure Development Authority Managing Director, John Kaio urged them to commit to what they have signed to.

“You will make a poor decision when you start to think of five contracts then you start to move your machines you are working for in a current contract and try to put them into a new contract,” Mr Kaio said.

“That is poor business practice in the construction industry. In every tender document you put in you are putting in your resource that you will buy or you will hire- you must maintain your contracts as live contracts starting on time and finishing on time.”

“Yes we are trying to get our head around coming into the construction industry and maybe using the funds given through the contracts to other ventures like buying properties, this is not fair to us as the implementing agency, and because we are a country that wants to build infrastructure that we want to be proud of.”

Kaio urge to be serious about what they were doing, as the government was serious in delivering quality roads for its people.

“If you want to be in the road business you have to be serious, you need to put in resources, not because you are our wantoks (countryman) you will register a company rush in to buy a backhoe or truck and then we give you a K5 million job and you do a job over three year,” he added.

“It does not make sense- let us do our work and do it properly.

He added, however, that discussions would be held with contractors to discuss their issues, if genuine, and efforts made to remedy them.

“Contractors will be receiving a letter from me and I will call you for us to discuss the issues you may be having and if it is a challenge to you we will understand but if it is negligence of your responsibility you will get a letter from us to ask you to improve your performance.”

“When it comes to maintenance it does not stop but it keeps going on and it is a process, but when it comes to a project it has a starting and a finish point.”