Africa-Press – Tanzania. THE Minister for Works, Abdallah Ulega, has ordered the arrest of contractors from China First Highway Engineering Co. Ltd. for failing to meet the terms of their road construction contract despite the government fulfilling its obligation by providing initial payments.
Speaking about the progress of the second section of the Ntyuka–Mvumi Hospital–Kikombo (53 km) road construction project in Dodoma Region, Minister Ulega said the company has failed to provide satisfactory explanations for the delays, even after receiving 9.68bn/-s from the government. To date, only 2% of the work has been completed, while the contractor was expected to have reached 13 percent progress.
Due to this situation, Minister Ulega has directed the Police Force and the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) to detain and question the contractor over allegations of breaching the contract terms. He noted that efforts to summon the company’s top management to Tanzania to give clarification have failed, and further legal action may be taken.
Additionally, Minister Ulega said he will closely monitor other projects being undertaken by the same contractor and will take appropriate action if their performance is unsatisfactory. He has instructed the Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Works, Dr. Charles Msonde, to ensure these projects are progressing according to contractual obligations.
The Minister also urged all Ministry of Works officials to ensure that construction projects are awarded only to contractors with the capacity and experience to complete projects on time.
In a separate directive, he instructed CHICO, the contractor working on the Ntyuka–Mvumi–Makulu (8.6 km) and Kikombo–Chololo–Mapinduzi (16.4 km) sections, to speed up the construction of bridges before the upcoming rainy season.
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