By Deogratias Mmana:
Parliamentary Committee on Transport and Public Infrastructure Chairperson Enock Phale has said his committee will visit the Marka- Bangula railway project site following reports that it requires an additional K27,765,521,923.25.
This pushes the project cost from K68 billion to K96 billion, which represents a 40 percent increase of the original project cost.
Phale said Tuesday that the additional cost has aroused interest in the committee, forcing it to plan to travel to the site to appreciate factors that have triggered the increase.
“The increase is an area of interest and we would like to find out why it has gone that way and, after our visit, we will be able to report and make our proper comment,” Phale said.
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The additional cost comes following a directive that Transport and Public Works Minister Jacob Hara gave during a meeting on July 31 2023, according to a confidential memo originating from the ministry’s principal secretary responsible for administration Madalo Nyambose.
According to the memo, the increase in the project cost is caused by two main factors which include results of soil investigation surveys for the existing railway alignment and the effects of cyclones Ana, Gombe and Freddy.
The memo is dated September 3 2023 and has reference number RD/03/42. Contract No. MTPW/ IPDC/DORS/02/2021- 2022: Design, Upgrading and Rehabilitation of the Railway Section Between Marka and Bangula.
The memo’s subject is ‘Finalisation of Project Scope. Detailed Engineering Designs and Cost’.
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“Honorable minister, the client, the supervising engineer and the contractor have agreed on the final project scope, detailed engineering designs and cost for the Marka-Bangula railway project following your directive on the same issued in a meeting on 31st July 2023.
“The final project cost, including contingency, VAT [Value Added Tax] and PPDA [Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority] levy is now Ninety-Six Billion, Two Hundred and Forty-Three Million, Four Hundred and Sixty Nine Thousand, Six Hundred and Twelve Kwacha and Fifty Tambala (K96, 243,469,612.50).
“This final cost represents an additional cost of K27,765,521,923.25 which is a forty percentage (40 percent) increase in cost to the existing Contract Price of K68,279,419,378.91, hence requires the approval of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority,” the memorandum reads.
The memo says the two factors have influenced major changes in designs for earthworks and pavement layers, bridges and other drainage structures.
The memo further says the bidding process for the existing contract was based on a Japanese International Cooperation Agency (Jica) study report of 2012 for the rehabilitation of the Sena Railway Corridor in Malawi and Mozambique, which indicated the possibility of re-using the existing soil material for the constructed pavement layer.
The memo says results of soil investigation surveys under this project revealed that the existing soil material could not be reused as was stated in the Jica study report of 2012.
The study, according to the memo, also revealed that pile foundations for bridge structures, as was the case in the Jica report of 2012, could not be practical, hence the change in designs for bridge structures foundation was adopted from pile to pad foundations with increased cost.
On the cyclones, the memo says the disasters increased the flood line on some sections of the railway alignment requiring a corresponding increase in the formation height, adding that the floods necessitated the increase in the number and size of drainage facilities in the form of open drains.
“Honorable minister, in addition to the design changes stated above, the final designs have incorporated minor additions to project scope in track layout, with minor cost additions,” the memo reads.
The principal secretary tells the minister that implementing the project at the detailed design cost of K96 billion is above the contracting authority’s maximum allowable cost and adjustment of K68,279,419,378.91 plus 15 percent additional cost and would, therefore, require the approval of the PPDA, which might take months to be granted or not.
The memo says since project items do not include project management and capacity building for the employer, and that effective monitoring requires frequent travel to project sites on the part of the employer, the employer should develop an annual budget for the minister’s approval and that the budget be funded through the Railways Infrastructure Development Fund domiciled at Roads Fund Administration.
Further, the minister is also asked to approve K6,697,430,098.34 for incorporation of signalling and communication systems designs and construction under project contingency.
In an interview with The Nation, Hara said a determination on the scope of works has not been made, adding that it would be very unlikely that the price could jump to that level.
Meanwhile, Centre for Social Accountability and Transparency Executive Director Willie Kambwandira has called for investigations into the issue of rising cost of the project.
“The sharp rise puts to question the sincerity of the feasibility studies and raises speculation that some people could be taking advantage of this to inflate figures.
“This being a big project, such eventualities could have been considered before project take off. Sadly, Parliament seems not to be providing the desired oversight,” Kambwandira said.
