Filenews 11 November 2024 - by Dora Christodoulou
The competent Minister of Transport, Communications and Works travels to Polis Chrysochous tomorrow at 11.00 a.m. in order to meet with the municipal authority for discussion on the major project of the Pafos-Polis Chrysochous road, following the termination of the contract with the contractor by the state.
Alexis Vafeadis will inform the Municipality of Polis about the rapid developments we had today and about the next moves of the state towards the implementation of the project. It is expected that the Municipality will request the immediate promotion of the tender for the selection of a new contractor who will undertake the continuation of the project from where it is today.
The whole process is expected to be fast anyway, as the Department of Public Works assured today, so that within five years the major project of the Pafos district will be completed.
Prior article on Filenews:
In a 3-year horizon, the execution of the Pafos-Polis road was reported by the Director of the Department of Public Works, Lefteris Eleftheriou.
In statements to CNA after the announcement on Monday that the contract with the company for the Paphos-Polis Chrysochous road is being terminated, Mr. Eleftheriou said that they signed with the contractor to execute the project from 27.5.21 to 26.11.24, a contract lasting three and a half years.
He added that the contractor had demanded through this process a 59-month extension of time for the execution of the project, i.e. 5 years and €36 million extra money to be paid. We, he continued, "as the Department of Public Works and as the Ministry of Transport, are committed that we will re-tender this project and execute it within a time horizon of three years." He added that the government was not willing to waste any more valuable time on a contract that had already experienced extensive delays.
"Our goal is to complete the project with the expected benefits for the region," he added. The Director of the Department of Public Works said that both the Department of Public Works, the Director General of the Department and the Minister of Transport made "intensive efforts" to overcome any obstacles, problems and meet the requirements of the contractor.
We had, he added, "monthly meetings and not only with the contractor, examining the progress of his works, but at the same time trying to solve all the problems that arose on the construction site, such as quarry materials, appropriate materials, the issue of the gradual partial submission of the project design and anything else that arose during the execution of the project."
He also pointed out that as the Department of Public Works they had a project team on site, which was on a permanent basis on site with the aim of supervising the contractor promptly, correctly, and without any delay.
To a relevant question, Mr. Eleftheriou replied that the contractor's requirements in additional cost and completion time of the project were judged by the Central Committee for Changes and Claims (KEEA) as "extremely problematic and exorbitant". The contractor, Eleftheriou explained, submitted financial and time claims in the order of 59 months and €36 million.
All of the contractor's claims, he continued, "had been reviewed by both the employer's representative and the Central Committee for Changes and Claims (KEAA). All these demands were rejected by all these bodies," he said. He also said that as a Department they followed the legal procedure to examine the contractor's claims. The contractor along the way, exactly as provided for in the contract, asked for an amicable settlement to resolve his disputes, Mr. Eleftheriou said.
Subsequently, he said, the Central Committee, which is the competent body, went ahead and appointed an Ad Hoc Committee to examine the contractor's claims. This Ad Hoc Committee proceeded, as he said, to examine the contractor's claims, met and listened to all the contractor's demands, recorded them and made the report to the Central Committee for Changes and Claims."
However, he noted, the contractor's demands were judged by the Central Committee for Changes and Claims (KEEA) which rejected them.
After this development, it was decided to implement the provisions of the contract for termination. Mr. Eleftheriou noted that efforts were made to help the Contractor manage its problems and alternative suggestions submitted for a change in the way the road was constructed were evaluated but were deemed unacceptable and rejected.
A third independent expert was involved in the evaluation of the contractor's recommendations, he added. According to Mr. Eleftheriou, the long delay observed and the very slow pace of work "could in no way continue".
Asked about the next steps, Mr. Eleftheriou noted that the Department of Public Works will proceed immediately with the recording of the works carried out by the Contractor in order to prepare the Final Account. This recording will be done in cooperation with the Contractor, he said. Then, he said, he will proceed with the preparation of new documents, bidding and then awarding the project. "In total, the project will be completed in 3 years, which is judged favourably in relation to the time it would take the contractor, since he required the same time – in case he could stick to the schedule," he said.
At the same time, he said that the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works and the Department of Public Works will proceed with the design and implementation of the second phase of the project (Stroumbi-Polis Chrysochous), as the initial timetable. This Phase is not affected by the development of Phase A. This project has been provided for in the 2026 budget of the Ministry of Transport, he concluded.
