Tuesday, January 10, 2006

SMART Tunnel Sub-Con in Dilemma



SMART Tunnel is losing it's contractual smartness. The dark-side of its contract management had surfaced now.

Wayss & Freytag Asia, it's German sub-contractor for the 'North Drive' Tunnel contract was terminated SMART, (a joint-venture consortium between Gamuda Bhd and MMC Corp Bhd) allegedly due to delay in progress.

Syarikat Mengurus Air Banjir & Terowong Sdn Bhd (SMART) issued the termination notice last week to Wayss & Freytag Asia.

Sources said the firm, Wayss & Freytag Asia, had incurred cost overrun and decided that it could not sustain work. Construction analysts also said that work on the north section could be delayed.

The SMART tunnel is actually being built to mitigate flooding, but it is also designed to alleviate traffic congestion. It is a 9.7km flood water diversion tunnel which incorporates a 3km double-decker motorway, located 25-30 metres underground. The motorway’s upper deck is for traffic moving from Kampung Pandan south to the Kuala Lumpur-Seremban Highway, while the lower deck will enable traffic to move along this highway north to the city centre.

Work began on January 1 2003 and is due to be completed by the end of this year. So far, about 70 per cent of the project has been completed.

Arbitration would certainly follow suit. The ugly side will unveil itself soon.

Best of luck to Gamuda and MMC.

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