Contractor liable for bridge collapse
Innocent Selatlhwa | Tuesday January 10, 2017 15:55
Southern District Council (SDC) chairman Alec Seametso however said they are still awaiting investigations report before moving forward.
According to a statement from the Roads Department after the initial incident, the collapse was a result of a failed culvert structure which gave-in from water pressure at a site of construction activity along the road, which by-passes Moshupa.
Sources suggest that the contractor removed concrete preventing erosion for purposes of expanding the road and were caught off guard by the rain on both occasions.
The collapsed bridges are part of infrastructure development projects on which government plans to spend P10 billion over a 10-year period.
The then Minister of Transport and Communications, Tshenolo Mabeo in 2015 told the SDC that the project entails the construction of a 335km road from the Mmankgodi junction through to Jwaneng, which covers at least seven access roads.
The government has partnered with the World Bank on the project, which started on May 2014 and is expected to be completed in May 2024.
Mabeo said the stipulated period is for increase of efficiency and effectiveness of road operation and to avoid premature deterioration of roads as the said contractor will take responsibility for maintenance of the road for that period.
“The contractor has a duty of designing, construction and maintenance and that if there is any shortcoming, he would take charge of the situation,” he said.
“The first package will entail civil works with a budget of more than P1 billion awarded to Elsimax-INT JVCA. The company is a joint venture between Elsamex from Spain and IF&LS Transportation Network Limited from India,” he stated.
Mabeo also revealed that the second package, which has a budget of more than P900 million, has also been awarded to the same company. “A detailed design for the improvement work and rehabilitation has been prepared by the contractor and are under review by the Department of Roads and monitoring consultants,” he said.
“The construction of the roads lie with the central government, all we do is ensure that the roads are safe, the project to expand the roads by Elsimax Construction is believed to have caused the collapses, however we are still awaiting a full report on exactly what happened from our roads department,” Seametso said.
He said at the moment he could not say how they are going to assist those whose cars ended up in accidents until the investigations are done. He said they will follow the law on what is to happen after the investigations.
Seametso said they have since assessed all the bridges in and around the area where works are being made and assured that the situation has normalised. “Most bridges in the village had water go above them. We have inspected and are certain that there wont be a repeat incident unless of course nature has other plans,” he said.
Seametso said the current rains in the district have not caused much destruction save for the Moshupa bridges. He said the Disaster Management Committee is assisting those affected with food and tents.