Metro looking for a contractor to resume work on R34-million EMPD project

The metro said this week it is still looking for a new contractor to resume construction work of the R34-million project to build a new EMPD Specialised Services section near the Boksburg City Stadium in Boksburg South.

“The process is in a procurement phase to secure the services of a contractor for the construction of the K9 structure only. The SWAT and POPS structures are planned for in the 2020/21 and 2021/22 financial years respectively reliant upon the availability of the necessary budget,” said EMPD spokesperson Chief Supt Wilfred Kgasago.

In April this year the Advertiser reported that according to a well-placed source construction work on the project commenced almost two years ago, but the contractor abandoned the site after it apparently failed to deliver as required, almost a year after it commenced construction works.

At the time the amount of R6-m had already been spent.

According to Kgasago the contractor did not abandon the site and it delivered all that was required of it as per the terms of the contract entered into.

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“The contractor was appointed to perform the total earthworks and site establishment as a multi-year project wherein three buildings, namely K9, SWAT and POPS, would be constructed,” said Kgasago.

Having said that, this publication visited the site in April and found building material left unattended on the site. It appears that the project was stopped while at the civil construction stage, and most of the work done has apparently been spoiled by the heavy rains and vandals.

As a result, it seems that the metro will be required to redo phase one of the project.

But Kgasago insisted that the first phase of the project was the earthworks (sewer) and site establishment, and that nothing else necessitated re-doing on phase one.

The Advertiser also asked the metro if the current estimated total cost is much more than what it should have been before the delays. Kgasago replied: “No. The cost is in line with normal consumer price index (CPI), which encompasses building cost increases.”

Below is a breakdown of how much the project is expected to cost taxpayers:

• Phase one R6-m earthworks and site establishment
• Phase two: R8-m K9 building
• Phase three: SWAT structure projected to cost R10-m
• Phase four: POPS structure projected to cost R10-m.