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Uganda: Blacklist Northern Bypass Contractor
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New Vision (Kampala)
EDITORIAL
6 July 2008
Posted to the web 7 July 2008
Kampala
The Government has threatened to penalise Salini, the contractors of the Northern Bypass, for delaying the completion of the highway. The 21km bypass, whose construction started in 2004, is clearly behind schedule.
The contractors are reportedly diverting from the original specifications. Engineers have also reported that the last bitumen layer is substandard. Currently, all the major national roads go through Kampala, leading to congestion along the radial roads of the city. The Northern Bypass was meant to address this.
Construction of long-lasting roads in Uganda has been elusive as contractors collude with some officials to do substandard work. Salini complains that there was a revision of the project design and also blames the delay on the rainy season. But the completion date has been extended over four times yet there are still missing components of the project. These include construction of the pedestrian bridges, junctions between the bypass and the existing roads and a number of side or ring roads. The flyovers are also substandard.
The observation by the Head of the European Union mission, Vincent De Visscher, about the continued use of four axle trucks should also be taken seriously. Most of the trucks transiting through Uganda are overloaded and damage our roads.
Some foreign construction companies think they can do shoddy jobs in Africa, something they cannot get away with in their countries. Could this be why Uganda has roads that don't last long as President Yoweri Museveni observed recently?
Action against Salini is necessary now. Such action was taken against a French company, Basil Read Bouygues TP, which won the contract on the Jinja-Bugiri Road in 2004. Reynolds Construction Company of Nigeria & Sonitra Ltd Joint Venture, which got the contract later, is now doing a wonderful job.
There also appears to have been weak supervision by the Road Agency Formation Unit on the Northern Bypass.
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Ugandans have waited for this road for a long time and their patience has justifiably run out. The Government should either penalise Salini or terminate the contract. Such a company should also be blacklisted.
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