R10bn claim 'unlikely to succeed'

Johannesburg - The Gautrain Management Agency on Tuesday dismissed as "spurious" a claim of more than R10bn by the Bombela consortium for reported delays in the construction process.

"The Gauteng province has come to the conclusion that the concessionaire has a spurious claim which the province is convinced will have very little chance of succeeding," said Gautrain Management Agency chief executive officer Jack van der Merwe.

"A decision, taken by the Gautrain Political Committee and supported by the Gautrain Management Agency Board, is to oppose this spurious claim.

"Should the concessionaire proceed with this claim, it will be referred to arbitration for adjudication," Van der Merwe said in a statement.

He said the province received a "Delay and Disruption Submission" from the Bombela Concession Company in August last year.

According to a report, Bombela submitted the claim of more than R10bn, saying that the Gauteng government handed over building sites late and in a different sequence from what had been agreed upon.

This upset the contractor's planning and involved additional expenses.

But Van der Merwe said it was a "common occurrence" on "mega-infrastructure projects" that the contractors lodge claims against the client.

Also, Van der Merwe reiterated that the Gauteng province would not pay extra for the Gautrain being ready between Sandton and the airport in time for the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

"The Gauteng province would like to indicate that the proposed heads of agreement between the parties concerning costs, states that 'this variation shall be a zero costs variation to province, now and in the future'.

"Thus it is clear that if this agreement is implemented the Gauteng province will incur no costs, now and into the future, to have the Gautrain airport service running for the Fifa 2010 World Cup."

- Sapa