Filenews 13 September 2024
On the occasion of the phenomenon of long delays in building projects of the University of Cyprus (UCY), the Parliamentary Audit Committee discussed on Thursday the need to exclude from the public procurement process contractors who have repeatedly caused delays in the completion of contracts they have undertaken.
The Committee met today to discuss the progress of the construction of the Faculty of Biological Sciences of UCY. As the Auditor General, Odysseas Michaelides, mentioned during the meeting, the project should have been delivered by 2023, it was extended and now the contractor's forecast is that it will be delivered in March 2025, with the Audit Office, however, estimating that this will not be possible.
He said that the progress reports presented by the project contractor were incomplete, while among the findings of the Audit Office's report is that quality problems were also observed in the project. Michaelides spoke of "non-existent progress of works" and a "very low rate of production by the contractor", saying that the last payment certificate was issued in April 2024. He also noted that in April 78% of the project had been completed, covering 145% of what was planned.
Mr. Michaelides referred to a series of unjustified delays on the part of the contractor, as well as problematic communication between the parties involved. However, he also blamed the Criminal Code, asking the question "when the Criminal Code does not recognize the problem, how will it pressure the contractor and hold him accountable?" while he said that the attitude of the Criminal Code is too important to prove before a court that the time that passes is essential.
According to Odysseas Michaelides, the penalty in case of delays is 5,000 per day, i.e. 150,000 per month.
For his part, the Rector of UCY, Tassos Christofides, said that since December the UCY has imposed clauses on the contractor due to delays.
The head of the Technical Services of UCY, Vassos Olympios, responding to the reports of the Auditor General on claims of the contractor against the University, said that 11 requests of a contractor have already been checked, but he has not been given any of the amounts demanded. He noted that delaying the project does not cost money, but time. He added that efforts are being made to proceed with the completion of the project, saying that it is not easy to terminate contracts because of the consequences they have (delay, but also legal proceedings).
In this context, the head of the Public Procurement Directorate of the Ministry of Finance, Filippos Katranis, agreed that it is a great burden to terminate contracts, but noted that if this never happens, contractors who "deliberately submit low bids" manage to undertake public works, in which, in his expression, they continue to cause delays. Mr. Katranis, responding to an intervention by DISY MP Rita Superman, noted that with this approach to public works, designers and contractors are "trained" to follow such practices.
Mr. Katranis noted that, if those who have suffered penalties for projects they have undertaken are not excluded from the tender process, it happens that they undertake other projects.
The Auditor General also pointed the finger at the receipt of part of the works, citing as an example the case of the Faculty of Engineering, saying that this practice reduces the contractor's penalties, something that the Rector refuted, stating that the receipt was approved by the KEA, so that the semester could start and that the site has been inspected by the Department of Labour Inspection.
However, Mr. Christofides assured that the Faculty of Engineering will be fully delivered by the end of October and its inauguration will take place soon, while Mr. Olympios said that all three projects that are in progress, as well as the photovoltaic park of UCY, will be completed by the Presidency of Cyprus in the EU. He also noted that it is important for UCY to insist on the process of architectural competitions, despite the Auditor General's suggestion to abandon it, as some buildings have a specific cultural value for the University.
What Members said
DISY MP Rita Superman, in her statements after the meeting, said that "the University of Cyprus should bear sole responsibility to monitor the timetables for implementation, so as not to increase the financial requirements of the contractor". He added that the long delays also affect the smooth operation of the University, to the benefit of students.
AKEL MP Irene Charalambidou referred to the problem with the recurring phenomenon of delays in public contracts, saying that "there are some who give low bids and then take advantage of the system to come and demand more and with the University of Cyprus this is a systematic behaviour". She expressed her agreement with the framework set by the Ministry of Finance and concluded that "the exploitation and misuse and squandering of public money must stop".
MP Alekos Tryfonidis said in his statements after the meeting that, if the work of the School of Biological Sciences does not proceed soon, they should "dare to dismiss a contractor because it is the phenomenon that a contractor who was late in another project, gets another project of the same organization but because he had not dismissed him from the previous project and had not imposed a penalty. it cannot do so with the new project, based on the directives of the European Commission."
