COMPLETION OF MBARARA CENTRAL MARKET TO DELAY FOR MORE MONTHS, TRADERS SAY IT’S A NIGHTMARE

By Aggrey Twesigye

www.mknewslink.com

In Mbarara—-

Vendors and traders in Mbarara district will again have to wait longer before accessing the highly anticipated for Mbarara central market, after authorities extended its completion to January 2021.

This is the third time project has been extended after the contractor, ROKO Construction Company limited failed to deliver on the original due date February 2020. 

The 21 billion Uganda shillings project is constructed by ROKO Construction Company limited under the Markets And Agriculture Trade Improvement Project (MATIP) that aims at improving agricultural and trade.

Mbarara city principal commercial Officer ,James Agaba blamed the delay on Covid 19 pandemic which paralyzed site works and hampered purchase of materials. 

“ROKO had placed an order for some materials from China but when Covid 19 hit harder, some factories had to close,” he explained.

In light of this, Agaba noted that the contractor has been given till the end of January 2021 to complete works or else trigger a fine of 0.5 percent of the total project cost per extra day in liquidated damages. 

“According to the terms of contract, ROKO is supposed to lose 100 million per day beyond 31st of January 2021, a charge they are supposed to pay to the central government for not finishing the market in time” Agaba noted. 

However, Eng. Willie Swanepoel the contract Operation Manager ROKO Construction Company suggested that the delays were caused by central government that has been slow in allocating funds a matter Agaba James the city principal commercial Officer protests saying that the government is ready to pay the contractor once the project is complete. 

The Secretary for publicity Mbarara central market vendors association Donozio Kibanda said that the continuous delays in completing the market are a night mare for the traders who were temporarily relocated to the city independence park to allow the construction of the market 

The city principal commercial Officer appealed to the central market vendors now based at Mbarara independence park to remain patient saying the market should be done in a couple of months 

Some of the remaining construction works at the facility include the installation of water tanks, roofing and tiling.

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