News / Local
$56 million Egodini revamp project fails to take off
11 Sep 2014 at 07:01hrs | Views
The $56 million Egodini Terminus revamping project, largely touted to be Bulawayo's skyline changer and provider of employment to about a quarter of the city's jobless, has failed to take off after the company, which won the tender for the scheme, abandoned it, The Zimbabwe Mail reported.
Early last year, Bulawayo City Council put to competitive bidding the construction of a multi-storey complex that was set to be a transport hub, shopping mall and office complex, a tender won by a South African civil engineering company, Terracotta (PVT) Ltd.
Bulawayo mayor Martin Moyo on Wednesday said the city has frantically tried to contact the company, but to no avail. He said the company had become 'elusive' and there was 'no more communication', rendering the project 'impossible'.
"There is no more communication from the Terracotta people, we have tried our best to communicate with them and get to understand what might be happening with them, but we have gotten no response," Moyo said.
"We don't know why they have vanished, but all I can say is that the deal is no longer possible."
Terracotta won the tender after bidding for $56m, ahead of two other companies that had submitted $30m and $3m bids because it was thought to be the most suitable firm with its wide experience and capacity to carry out massive projects.
The project was supposed to have started in December last year with the eviction and relocation of commuter omnibus operators and vendors, using the terminus, while real civil works were to start in January this year.
'Legal paperwork' was the reason given for the stalling of construction work after Terracotta was said to be 'unhappy' with some of the clauses in the contract in February, but Moyo said: "They were giving trivial reasons that really have no bearing on the contract.
"They should have been on the ground in January, but they are just taking too long and it is no good holding on to them when they cannot start work on the project," he said.
Moyo said the city fathers would soon 'sit down to get an explanation' and to map the way forward, 'perhaps see if we can re-tender or take the second best applicant'.
Early last year, Bulawayo City Council put to competitive bidding the construction of a multi-storey complex that was set to be a transport hub, shopping mall and office complex, a tender won by a South African civil engineering company, Terracotta (PVT) Ltd.
Bulawayo mayor Martin Moyo on Wednesday said the city has frantically tried to contact the company, but to no avail. He said the company had become 'elusive' and there was 'no more communication', rendering the project 'impossible'.
"There is no more communication from the Terracotta people, we have tried our best to communicate with them and get to understand what might be happening with them, but we have gotten no response," Moyo said.
"We don't know why they have vanished, but all I can say is that the deal is no longer possible."
The project was supposed to have started in December last year with the eviction and relocation of commuter omnibus operators and vendors, using the terminus, while real civil works were to start in January this year.
'Legal paperwork' was the reason given for the stalling of construction work after Terracotta was said to be 'unhappy' with some of the clauses in the contract in February, but Moyo said: "They were giving trivial reasons that really have no bearing on the contract.
"They should have been on the ground in January, but they are just taking too long and it is no good holding on to them when they cannot start work on the project," he said.
Moyo said the city fathers would soon 'sit down to get an explanation' and to map the way forward, 'perhaps see if we can re-tender or take the second best applicant'.
Source - Zim Mail
