MPW eyes cancelling two new projects

Contractors said to violate some contractual obligations

KUWAIT CITY, May 27: Ministry of Public Works has been considering revoking two new projects from contracting companies that violated some clauses of the contractual agreements, similar to the projects of Wafra Road and upgrade of Al-Bida’a Roundabout, reports Al-Shahed daily quoting an informed source.

He explained that the frustration overwhelming Ministry of Public Works is concerning the fact that such a decision may cost government millions of dinars. This is in addition to the fact that the ministry has not been handling the issue transparently enough with the public opinion over the fundamentals and mechanisms that determine the projects or its revocation. They did not issue any statements to clarify the kind of penalties meted out to the concerned contractors. In most cases, those contractors go scotfree without being held accountable by paying fines for the delay.

The source declared that the method for revoking contracts is suspicious in certain cases, as it gives many of the contractors the right to file lawsuits against the government and demand for compensations. He added that this is contrary to the normal situation whereby the ministry should rather be asking for fines and compensations from the concerned contractors.

Assistant Undersecretary for Commercial Control and Consumer Protection Affairs at Ministry of Commerce and Industry Eid Al-Rashidi says the ministry, in coordination with Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor and the Union of Cooperative Societies, rejected all requests presented by some food companies before the month of Ramadan for increase in prices of their commodities, reports Al-Anba daily.

In a press statement, Al-Rashidi revealed that the ministry is intensifying inspection campaigns on all cooperative societies, central markets, shops and all outlets in various parts of Kuwait.

He explained that the ministry is comparing the current prices of commodities to the one recorded in the recent past. It also increased the number of commercial inspectors in the sector of Commercial Control and Consumer Protection Affairs in order to ensure its control over the commercial activity, as well as to develop a system for receiving complaints from consumers through the hotline No. 135 and trade centers.