Taxpayers are set to lose shs 2.9 billion after KeRRA awarded a roads construction tender to a Chinese firm that is unable to carry out construction work.
During the award of the tender, KeRRA also bypassed four firms to award the contract to the fifth lowest bidder.
The Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA) signed the deal with China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) for about Sh2.9 billion when the lowest bidder had quoted Sh2.4 billion.
Contract No. RWC 568 was for improvement to bitumen standards and performance based routine maintenance of the 74-kilometre Mbita-Sindo-Kiabuya-Sori road in Homa Bay and Migori counties.
Residents told Hot News there is no construction work going on.
Others said a few months ago, there were construction equipments on the road but they latter disappeared.
CCECC got the award notification in a letter dated April 29, 2020 and signed by then Acting Director General Engineer Luka Kimeli.
The award was issued 9 days after the contract awarded to the first bidder Chongqing International was cancelled.
The tender was advertised in July 2019.
A total of 20 firms had bid for the contract with Chinese firm Chongqing International Construction Corporation emerging the lowest evaluated bidder at Sh2,469,411,261.05.
Henan Highways Engineering was listed as second at Sh2,682,055,615.60, J&K Investments Kenya Limited was third at Sh2.711787, 2013.1, Sinohydro emerged fourth at Sh2, 810,754,274.00 while CCECC was fifth at Sh2,933,206,091.64.
The difference between the least evaluated firm and the one awarded the tender is Sh463.8 million.
In July 2020, Kimeli who had been replaced as the Director General said he would not comment on the award since he relied on advice from the procurement department.
He told the People Daily Newspaper then.
“The decision was made following advice from the head of procurement. You can only get information from that department,” Kimeli told the Newspaper.
Some of the firms knocked out insisted that they were not given a letter of regret as required by the law.
The tarmacking of Mbita-Sindo- Magunga -Sori road had stalled since 2011 after a contractor who won the tender experienced hitches.
Residents regretted that currently, there is no construction work going on 5 months after the contract was awarded.
Construction was to commence within 21 days after the award of the tender.
However, several residents said China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) explained to them last year that it was unable to bring in construction equipments because of the lockdowns that had been imposed in China.
“Officers from the Presidential Delivery Unit visited the road last year to access the progress. However, no work is ongoing,” said Mark Agutu a resident in Sindo.
The residents said the relevant agencies should intervene and ensure construction work resumes.
“We are suffering because of poor connectivity. We need this road,” Resident Paul Omollo said.
Several local leaders including John Mbadi have defended the contractor adding the project commenced because of the handshake.