‘Work on Jamal Abdul Nasser road to be finished by Jan 16’
1,173 days project delayed
KUWAIT CITY, Aug 13: The Minister of Public Works and Minister of State for Housing Affairs Dr Jenan Bushehri was recently quoted as saying the work on the Jamal Abdul Nasser road is expected to be fully completed by Jan 16, 2020, reports AlQabas daily.
The latest report on the project indicates the contractual date of initial receipt of the project was Aug 25, 2018, Bushehri said in a note sent to the National Assembly.
The memorandum noted some of the main parts of the project, such as the opening of some roads for vehicular traffic, including the tunnel at the intersection with the second ring road have been completed.
According to the information received by Al-Qabas, the project contract was signed on Feb 2, 2011 and work commenced on May 1 of the same year. Thus, the total number of days of extension in addition to the announced delay is 1,173 days.
On the level of change orders, the parliamentary memorandum noted that 6.6 million dinars was deducted from the total contract value. Regarding the contractor’s complaint against the state, Bushehri explained that the three foreign companies, including the contractor’s consortium, resorted to international arbitration in Febuary 2017 and made false allegations that the ministry did not respond to two financial claims with a high value, noting that the two claims are unfounded according to the contract.
The International Arbitration Commission rejected the contractor’s urgent demands in November 2017 and the arbitration case is still pending according to the applicable procedures and is being followed up by the Fatwa and Legislation Department.
She explained the ministry, through two letters sent in April and May 2017 has suggested that the Central Tenders Committee does not entertain any of the three companies or qualify for future ministry because they have resorted to the International Arbitration Commission in violation of the provisions of the ministry’s contract.