GOVERNMENT'S NORTH Coast Highway project and the Naggo Head Informatics Centre in Portmore, St. Catherine are among several projects with cost overruns, which the Contractor General has highlighted in his latest report.
According to the report, 70 per cent of the 37 projects were scheduled to be completed by December 2003, but less than 10 per cent were completed by that time.
This, the Contractor General said, in a report tabled in Parliament yesterday, was partially due to fluctuations in labour and material costs, changes in the scope of work and cost overruns.
The north coast project, which runs from Negril to Montego Bay, Montego Bay to Ocho Rios, and Ocho Rios to Port Antonio, was originally contracted at US$60 million ($3.6 billion).
MONTHS OF DELAY
The project, which should have been completed in June last year, is halfway completed with US$26 million ($1.5 billion) already spent. Work on Phase Two of the highway project, from Montego Bay to Ocho Rios, recently resumed following months of delay due to financial problems experienced by the Argentinian contractor José Cartellone Construcciones Civles. When the Contractor General's report was being compiled, 24 months of the 30-month project had passed.
"We concluded from our observation that poor management and inadequate financing account for many of the delays," the report said. "Some of the overruns can also be attributed to poor planning and failure to adhere to strict contract administrative procedures."
Last week Prime Minister P.J. Patterson announced that Cabinet awarded a $5.6 billion contract to Denmark construction firm E. Phils & Sons to complete Segment Three (Ocho Rios to Port Antonio) of the highway project.
Most of the money is being provided through a grant from the European Union, while the Jamaican Government will provide the balance.
The Contractor General also made reference to the Naggo Head Infomatics Centre in Portmore, a project that was awarded to Tank-Weld Limited.
The $175 million project began in July 2002 and was slated to finish in April 2003. Up to the time of the report, the project was 88 per cent completed and had so far cost $156 million.
Meanwhile, the Contractor General said there was greater adherence to guidelines for procuring work than for goods and services.
According to the report, whereas the pre-contract processes were improving, management of the post-award segment of the procurement process continued to be problematic, especially for work contracts.
