The Audit Bureau revealed that the delivery of the first part of the first phase of the Mubarak Port project, worth KD 117.7 million dinars, is more than 8 years behind schedule, Al Qabas reported.
In its report for the fiscal year 2020-2021, the Bureau criticized the Ministry of Works for not deducting the delay fine of 5.7 million dinars, despite the delay of the contractor after the 612-day extension granted to him. Bureau also criticized Ashghal’s failure to accurately estimate the quantities of the contract clauses before it was put forward, which led to an increase in them upon implementation by a value of 28.3 million dinars, or 24% of the total works.
In the report, Diwan said that the failure to complete a good study of the project and the lack of coordination with the concerned authorities before it was put forward led to the issuance of 5 change orders for discounting with a total value of about 21 million dinars and two-time extensions.
He added that the “works” allowed the ministries of defense and electricity to use the road being implemented in the project, although it was not received initially, which violates human rights conditions and exposes the ministry to legal consequences.
Concerning the advisory agreement for design review and project supervision, valued at KD 2.8 million, the report indicated that the ministry issued an order to direct the consulting office 3 months before signing the contract, and it has not issued any extension since the end of July 2019 despite the presence of the supervisory body to date without legal coverage Which opens the door to financial claims or lawsuits in the future.
The report indicated that the amounts included in the agreement with extensions had been exhausted without reducing any efforts and not holding the advisory office accountable according to the actual needs of the work by the requirements of the Bureau, pointing to the division of the ministry into 4 extension orders related to the agreement to distance it from being subject to the oversight of the Bureau.
Commenting on the observations, the Public Works Authority said that the postponement of the delay fine deduction is aimed at improving the financial flows for the benefit of the work and that the contractor’s withheld dues cover the fine, noting that the completion rate of the supervisory agreement, in turn, amounted to about 97% and that the office’s contractual responsibility necessitates its presence on the site.