First phase of R2 billion contract to upgrade Rooiwal treatment works hit by further delays

The first phase of a R2bn contract to upgrade the Rooiwal Waste Water Treatment Works is expected to suffer further delays after the City of Tshwane fired a contractor for non-performance.

Two months ago the Pretoria News reported that the contractor appointed to upgrade the plant abandoned the project following a contractual fallout with the municipality. On Friday, the Utility Service’s MMC Daryl Johnston announced that the metro had terminated a contract of the joint venture of CMS Water Projects and NJR Projects, which was appointed for a Phase 1 construction in October 2019 at a value of R253m.

Johnston said the termination followed significant problems and delays with the quality of the work on the site due to continuous stalling. “The City has engaged extensively with the joint venture partners by using a variety of mechanisms to get the teams back on site and actively working on the project but after months of effort, there is almost no evidence of progress from the joint venture,” he said.

Phase 1 of the project, he said, involved both civil and mechanical work for the refurbishment of various elements of the plant as well as upgrading and extending others. “The contract commencement was on October 4, 2019, and the original completion date was May 30, 2022. There were some delays due to the Covid-19 lockdown and an outbreak of Covid-19 on the site, which meant a revised completion date of August 2, 2022. However, despite initial progress on the site, disputes between the joint venture partners have now jeopardised the project,” Johnston said.

He said the refurbishment and upgrade project was needed to improve the capacity of the waste water treatment works to process the large amount of waste water coming into the plant. Johnston said: “This will in turn prevent spillage and pollution of the outflows from the plant, which negatively affects the downstream river. It also means that the water going downstream to Temba Waste Water Treatment Works, which supplies water to about 40% of the Hammanskraal community, is too polluted for the Temba Waste Water Treatment Works to turn into potable water.”

Regarding the expected delays, he said the City cannot allow such a project to be delayed any further. “We have been using all the legal mechanisms at our disposal to try to ensure that the joint venture gets back on track and that this project proceeds in a timely manner. The Local Government: Municipal Finance Management Act, 2003 (Act 56 of 2003) and the City's supply chain processes are strict in what they allow, and we have worked within those restrictions,” he said.

Following the contract termination, Johnston said, the City will immediately work to appoint a new contractor to complete the project. “Our most immediate steps will be to terminate the contract and to initiate legal action against the joint venture to reclaim an amount of about R29m in terms of the non-performance clauses of the contract. Furthermore, we will inform the National Treasury to blacklist this joint venture. We will also go to market to ensure that the remaining work at the plant is completed,” he said.

He apologised to residents in the affected areas “for the challenges associated with this project”. “We are in the process of concluding an investigation on how this joint venture was appointed, and we are working to ensure that we do everything in our power to limit any further delays on this important project,” he said.