News
Kaduwela bridge contractor ignored repeated warnings: Irrigation Dept.
The contractor tasked with building the new Kaduwela-Biyagama bridge has repeatedly ignored orders from the Irrigation Department to remove a temporary jetty that now threatens to impede the flow of the Kelaniya River which is swelling with incessant rains.
The Irrigation Department has issued several directives to KD Ebert & Sons Holdings to take down at least 20m of a jetty that was installed months ago to enable construction of a pier on the river. This would leave at least two-thirds of the river unobstructed, thereby minimising the threat of flooding during rains.
Irrigation Director General S. Mohanarajah said a written instruction to supplement telephone messages was last issued on May 11.
The Road Development Authority has maintained that it was difficult to remove the structure because of water levels but directives were given as far back as last year in anticipation of another flood situation in 2018. This year, the warnings were conveyed from April onwards.
“If the rains continue in the catchment areas, things come down the river and get lodged in the jetty, thereby obstructing the flow of the river,” an Irrigation Department official said. “Last time, too, there were big trees trapped there.”
This week, the main Kaduwela-Biyagama bridge had to be closed for traffic due to soil erosion along the banks nearby. But the police said the contractor of the new bridge was also responsible for the damage.
“The contractor has excavated under the old, existing bridge,” said an engineering source. “Before doing so, they should have tightened the sheet piles that are there from 2015 along the embankment by adding cross boards and anchoring. This would have reinforced the embankment.
“Since it was not done, the water soaked the soil and with heavy rain surcharge the embankment collapsed,” he explained.
But these are not the only problems with KD Ebert’s handling of the Kaduwela-Biyagama project or with the construction of several other bridges allocated to it by the RDA under the Kuwait Fund. According to the minutes of a steering committee meeting, the company has only shown 48 percent progress in the construction of bridges in the package at the end of April 2018.
The Kaduwela-Biyagama bridge itself was due to have been finished in September 2017. An extension was granted up to April 2018. But, with work still not over, an RDA committee is now evaluating whether yet more time can be granted till September. “They have submitted a revised programme and it is being evaluated,” said Nihal Sooriyarachchi, RDA Chairman.
Earlier this year, the RDA said it was granting an extension to KD Ebert despite protracted delays in implementing the bridge project to avoid disruption to nine other large contracts awarded to the same contractor.
The decision was called to question by other RDA officials, including union members, who pointed out that there were contractual provisions to impose penalties on companies that did not carry out their obligations. “The right procedure is to take delay charges,” they said. “If the company objects, it can go for arbitration.”
Building activity was abandoned for several weeks last year. Work on the Kaduwela-Biyagama bridge came to a standstill. Several other bridges were at various stages of construction. The respective project director issued a termination letter to the company but the RDA reversed the decision, supported by former Highways Minister Lakshman Kiriella, Highways Ministry Secretary D.C. Dissanayake and Mr Sooriyarachchi.
It was claimed the company faced financial difficulties due to recent diversification activities. There were questions, too, over a Chinese company that KD Ebert had tied up with to bid for the project as a joint venture. “They cannot be located,” a senior RDA official said. “We sent a few letters but did not get a response.”
The Sunday Times telephoned K.D. Indika, Managing Director of KD Ebert, for a comment. He said he would respond after exiting from a meeting.