Filenews 5 December 2023 - by Angelos Nicolaou
A letter for termination of the employment of the contract with the contractor of OEDA Pentakomou within 14 days for non-compliance with the requirements of the contract was served yesterday. This news did not fall like a thunderbolt in the sky since the malfunction of the plant from the beginning of the contract, led the government to solve it and work on plans to take over the operation of the plant.
The government has been working on the plan for the undertaking of the integrated waste management facility (OEDA) of Pentakomo since 2019, two years after the plant was put into operation and the problems became apparent. The government's goal is to evict the existing contractor so that garbage will not be left on the streets. Therefore, all necessary steps were taken so that upon termination of the contract, the uninterrupted operation of the facility could continue.
It is noted that six years after the operation of the plant, the Council for the Exploitation of Domestic Waste Disposal and Recovery Sites of the Limassol district has not undertaken the management of the contract due to the pending issues from the construction period of the project, as well as the problems with the disposal of RDF secondary fuel.
Information from "F" indicates that the Water Development Department (WDD) is ready for the next day, however, any developments will occur once the time given to the contractor to leave the unit has expired.
It is noted that the action plan includes the termination of the contract for the operation of the Pentakomo OEDA and the Waste Transhipment Station (SMA) in Kantou. It is emphasized that all steps have been taken with the assistance of the Legal Service.
It is noted that the contract for the construction and operation of the unit no. Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 02/2013 for the project Design, Construction and Operation of the OEDA Unit and the Waste Transhipment Station (SMA) of Limassol district signed on 6/3/2015 by the Ministry of Interior. The construction works were completed under the supervision of an engineering consultant of the Ministry of Interior, who also made the provisional acceptance of the project on 9/11/2017.
The Council of Ministers on 26/08/2015 with its decision approved the transfer of the responsibilities of the Minister of Interior, provided for in the Waste Laws of 2011 to 2014, to the Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment. As a result of the above decision, a number of contracts for the design, construction and management of Solid Waste projects, including the contract of the Pentakomo OEDA, were transferred to the WDD.
On 11/10/2017, by decision of the Central Committee for Changes and Claims (KEEA), the transfer of this contract to the WDD was officially approved, while the process of handing over the relevant files by the Ministry of Interior was completed on 04/12/2017.
According to information provided by "F", the Limassol District Development Agency (ANELEM), in which the 11 communities of the Kouri-Xylouriko Complex participate, the Council for the Exploitation, Management or Recovery of Household Waste of the Limassol District (SEDAL) and the WDD will work together in order to reach an agreement between them for the continuation of the employment of existing staff during the transitional phase between the termination of the contract and the assignment of its operation unit to a new contractor.
The government hopes for a more active involvement of the trade unions in the final stage of securing staff services. Therefore, any procedures are carried out under the guidance of the competent Departments of the Ministry of Labor and Social Insurance.
It is emphasized that the termination of this contract could be done by applying one of the two provisions of the existing contract. First, by invoking Article 14.1: Submission of a letter of notice for the Contractor's compliance with the requirements of the contract, within a specified reasonable period of time. In case the contractor does not comply, then the WDD will give him 14 days' notice for termination of his employment, in accordance with article 14.2 of the operation contract. Second, by directly applying Article 14.2: Submission of a letter terminating his employment within 14 days for non-compliance with the requirements of the contract. The WDD finally chose Article 14.2 for termination of the Agreement.
Furthermore, it is expected that the unit will initially be hired as its operations manager and later, depending on the course of events, a team that will take over the management of the unit in the transitional phase between the termination of the existing contract and the assignment to a new contractor, in cooperation with WDD officers.
In another development, it is expected to hire a consultant for the preparation of tender documents for the operation of the plant as it is today as well as its upgrade in accordance with the provisions of the Municipal Waste Management Plan 2022-2028, for a duration of at least 10 years. This consultant will also oversee the requested upgrade.
It is emphasized that decisions are expected to be taken for the Pentakomo OEDA plant concerning, inter alia, the technology of the plant as well as the final products that will be produced (e.g. RDF/SRF secondary fuel produced or soil fuel produced, owner the state or the contractor).
Furthermore, a decision is expected regarding the management of the RDF/SRF produced until the upgrade of the plant (for the time being the largest quantity is buried, while a small quantity is delivered to Vassiliko Cement Works for burning).
Once the tender documents have been prepared, the WDD is expected to proceed with the publication of an open public tender for the upgrade and operation of the unit.
Audit Office: The contract suffered from the beginning
The spokesperson of the Audit Office told "F" that this contract suffered from the beginning and with it the whole affected area and the whole of Cyprus, due to the failure of the contractor to maintain the machinery of the production line, operate the plant and produce the material required by the waste treatment. so that the secondary fuel can be used for recovery instead of being buried, and this, in fact, despite the financial and other facilities provided by the state. As a result, the state has been forced to proceed with the expansion of the existing one and the construction of a new cell to bury the produced material, the risk of being penalised by the EU for deviating from environmental requirements, the risk of losing EU funding and many other consequences that will cost taxpayers tens of millions of euros.
As he told us, the Audit Office since 2019 points out the serious responsibilities of the contractor and its failure to meet the requirements of the contract in terms of performance and performance. The contracting authority not only constantly postponed measures, but also continuously paid amounts beyond those contractually stipulated, trying to keep the patient on the ventilator.
Now, he added, after millions of payments have been made in the meantime that have increased the state's exposure, at last, the new WDD management has realised that tolerance somewhere must have a limit.
"We will monitor the matter and hope that past manipulations did not give the contractor arguments in his quiver as a gift," the spokesperson of the Audit Office concluded.
