Chinese contractor pockets Rs. 410 mln from low standard Colombo Port Terminal
View(s):Sri Lanka’s Colombo South Container Terminal (CSCT) has been completed by a Chinese contractor without following the quality standards of construction stipulated in the contract, according to a revelation made by the consultancy company.
Hong Kong based AECOM Consultancy Company has brought to the notice of Sri Lankan authorities that a sum of over Rs. 410 million had been cheated by the contractor – Colombo International Container Terminal Company (CICT)- using substandard material and deviating from the quality standards agreed upon by them, official sources revealed.
CICT had entered into a Built, Operate and Transfer agreement with Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) to implement the project and hand it back to SLPA after 35 years. It was opened earlier this year.
According to the agreement the CSCT should be sustained for 60 years after the completion of the construction work.
The AECOM review report prepared by its resident engineer revealed that the sustenance period of quay wall, revetments and Fender chains should be around 60 years. However due to using substandard material, the period of sustenance has come down to not more than 35, 15 and 10 years, respectively.
The use of temporary revetments instead of original revetments was a violation of the agreement, official sources said adding that the company has been able to reduce their own cost by Rs. 316.39 million by resorting to this practice.
By using low quality Fender Chains, the company has saved Rs.102.22 million, official sources revealed. The Chinese company has pocketed out Rs.418.61 million only from these two segments of constructions.
The South Container Terminal (SCT) Project was completed at a cost of US$500 million or Rs. 52 billion. The agreements to construct the CSCT of the Colombo Port Expansion Project were signed by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority, China Merchants Holding (International) Company Ltd, and CICT.