Aussie contractor may exit NZ scene
The supplier of Chinese-made prison cells could pull its business from New Zealand, after the Department of Corrections terminated its contract to build new cells in five prisons.
In 2017, Australian company Decmil won a tender to supply ‘‘rapid build’’ prison units but the project has been mired in delay and deficiencies in construction.
On Tuesday Stuff revealed Corrections had terminated its contract with Decmil, which had subcontracted the manufacture and fit-out to Chinese-based company CIMC.
Corrections now looks set to fork out more than $30 million to find a new contractor and also deal with legal disputes as Decmil claims it was an ‘‘unlawful termination’’ and it had not been paid for four months, while continuing to fund the supply chain.
A whistleblower, who claims to have worked on the build, told Stuff how too ‘‘many fingers in the pie’’ plagued the project.
Corrections had a total budget of $448m to deliver the units that would contain 976 prison beds.
The company said it remained fully committed to completing all other projects already started in New Zealand but would now conduct a strategic review, based on operating practices within New Zealand, to determine how best to continue to operate here.
Decmil chief executive Scott Criddle said: ‘‘Having successfully delivered projects within New Zealand for the past five years, this contract coming to an end is a disappointment for the company and an unfair reflection of the efforts by all parties in its delivery to this point.’’
During that period the company also held contracts with the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Education. These include the construction of an ammunition processing building at Kauri Point and training barracks at Papakura Military Camp.
It was currently working on the development of Te Hurihuri Primary School and Waiheke High School and the design and construction of Orewa North West and Scott Point Primary Schools, with the latter scheduled for completion in January 2021.
It has also completed work on South Hornby School and Kauri Flats School in Auckland.
The company and Corrections would now attempt to resolve the outstanding issues by agreement, mediation, or failing those by arbitration, Criddle said.
‘‘We are only looking for a fair recognition of the work we and our subcontractors have completed, in line with the commitments made.’’
In a scathing attack, the company said in its December 2019 report, released this week, the justice select committee was ‘‘both self-serving and inaccurate, inasmuch as it completely fails to consider the department’s contribution to the delay in delivery of the contracted works’’.
The company confirmed it was in the process of obtaining external legal advice on matters raised within a Corrections report.
On Tuesday, Corrections deputy chief executive Andrew Robertson said Decmil failed to meet schedule and quality requirements, mainly due to how it organised and managed its work in New Zealand.