The Minister of Roads and Highways, Kwame Governs Agbodza, has cautioned road contractors against deliberately prolonging projects until the end of their contractual periods, urging them to complete works as early as possible for public use.
He said contractors who have the capacity to finish projects ahead of schedule should accelerate construction and hand over completed roads rather than remain on site simply because their contracts allow them more time.
The Minister made the remarks during an inspection of a road project, where a representative of the contractor assured him that the project was on schedule and had reached about 75 percent completion.
The contractor explained that arrangements were underway for the supply and placement of about 20,000 cubic metres of crushed rock required for the project, with payments already made to facilitate the process.
The assurance prompted Mr Agbodza to commend the contractor for the progress and the confidence shown in completing the project ahead of schedule.
He said the contractor’s commitment could result in the project being completed almost a year earlier than originally scheduled.
“I like the confidence by which he spoke. That would mean that we are completing almost one year ahead of our scheduled schedule, which is very impressive,” Mr Agbodza said.
The Roads Minister, however, cautioned contractors against interpreting the contractual duration of a project as the period they must necessarily spend on site.
He explained that the length of a contract was determined by the Ministry’s project-awarding arrangements and should not be seen as an instruction for contractors to remain on site until the final day of the contract.
“The temptation would be that you have two years. It is just the way the Ministry awards projects, so it doesn’t necessarily mean that your work is worth staying on site for two years,” he said.
Hon. Agbodza said completing projects early would be beneficial to both contractors and the state, particularly because keeping contractors on site for longer periods increases the financial burden on the project financier.
“The person funding the work knows about it. Keeping you on site for two years is actually a dent in his pocket, so it’s not even worth it. You’d rather finish quickly and take your money and go,” he said.
He urged contractors with the requisite capacity and resources to use them to accelerate construction, stressing that early completion would allow communities to benefit from improved road infrastructure sooner.
The Minister’s call forms part of efforts by the Roads and Highways Ministry to improve the pace of road construction and ensure that public investments in infrastructure translate into timely benefits for road users.
Source: Newspyramid.com
