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Uganda: Bypass Builder to Be Penalised
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New Vision (Kampala)
3 July 2008
Posted to the web 4 July 2008
Henry Mukasa and Joseph Kariuki
Kampala
THE Government is considering penalising the contractor of the Northern Bypass for delaying the completion of the highway.
The construction of the 21km bypass, meant to decongest the city centre, began in 2004 and was scheduled to be completed in November 2006.
According to works minister John Nasasira, the Italian company Salini is diverting from the specifications in the contract, causing the delays.
Ministry engineers have rejected the last bitumen layer as being sub-standard. But Salini insists the asphalt is within the contractual cost.
"We are all disappointed by the progress," Nasasira told the press yesterday.
"We have insisted we want high quality work and we are not lowering the standards."
When there are justifiable reasons for the delay, a contractor can ask for an extension, Nasasira noted.
In this case, however, "the approved extension for the bypass is over and the penalty clause will be invoked".
He hoped the Government would not be forced to kick out the contractor.
"When you kick out a contractor, you take over everything. It is messy and we don't want to take that route."
The European Union (EU), which funds the road at a tune of sh118b, also expressed disappointment over the delays.
"We have to take a decision quickly. The public desires that this contract be terminated. We don't need irreversible decisions like the laying of asphalt," EU head of delegation, Vincent De Visscher, noted.
Meanwhile, both the minister and the EU ambassador explained that Uganda was paying more for road construction than its coastal neighbours because it is landlocked.
De Visscher said the situation was not being helped by the relatively small, one-off projects in Uganda, which madke prices skyrocket.
But he noted that the recent sh1.1 trillion budgetary allocation to the road sector would alleviate the problem.
President Museveni has in several of his speeches expressed concern over the high cost and poor quality of Uganda's roads.
At the East African Community summit in Kigali last week, the President accused the EU of building Third World roads for Africa, which only last for 15 years, as opposed to European roads, which last for 50 years.
But De Visscher rejected this argument. "I challenge you to go and see the Jinja-Bugiri road. We are proud of its standard. It is not different from the ones we are using in Europe," he said.
He observed that Ugandan roads were designed to last as long as those in Europe.
The difference, he said, was that the road fund for routine maintenance has existed in Europe for a long time and overloading of vehicles is banned. He also blamed the continued use of four-axle trucks.
"If you overload your vehicle, you are stopped and taken off the road. Overloading cracks the structure of the road, allows water to seep in and damages the road beyond repair," De Visscher noted.
Nasasira acknowledged that maintenance has been the main problem in Uganda.
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"The lifespan of the road depends on the design and all our roads are designed to last for 15 years. You have to do regular maintenance and resurface after seven years," the minister said.
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