13/02/2023
13/02/2023
KUWAIT CITY, Feb 13: The report of the State Audit Bureau for the past year has made some observations related to the project to provide seawater to Mina Al-Ahmadi, as the Kuwait National Petroleum Company assigned the project to a contractor under Contract No. (0265/CA/CPD) dated 11/3/2019 for a period of 18 years, ending on 3/5/2021 at 1,825,200 dinars, reports Al-Jarida daily.
The Bureau is said to have monitored the company’s inaccuracy in conducting the preliminary studies of the project, as it signed the contract for the implementation of the project to install the filter without making sure that the land designated for the project to be built on was prepared and that all that impeded the implementation of the project were removed, after it was found that there is an underground concrete cover that contains sea water supply lines at the site, which led to the complete inability of the filter to be installed at the site, and the need to carry out additional works to locate another alternative site and modify the pipelines.
The Bureau stated that the company issued the first change order retroactively on 1/12/2021, that is 7 months after the expiry date of the original contract, by extending it for an additional 18 months at a rate of 100% of the original contract period of 18 months as well, so that the new expiry date became October 31, 2022. The delay in supplying some materials related to the project, the most important of which is the sea water filter, was 190 days.
The Bureau called for the company to take into account accuracy when preparing preliminary studies for its projects, and not to proceed with signing the contract before ensuring the accuracy and integrity of those studies, so that the company does not bear additional cost, and not to issue change orders retroactively, stressing the need to charge the contractor for the delay in accordance with the terms of the contract.