Saturday 30 July 2011

Airport tunnel contract rescinded

GIBRALTAR (Agencies) OHL, the Spanish construction company awarded the contract for the tunnel under the airport in 2008, has had the contract rescinded by Government. The effective date of termination will be 12th August, by which time the company is expected to remove all its materials and possessions from the site. A government statement says the grounds for such termination are the Contractor’s failure to comply with the terms of the Contract and to proceed with the works as required by the Contract. The Government says it will make alternative arrangements to proceed "expeditiously with the completion of the tunnel and related works included in the Contract.">>>A Government spokesman added: “ The Contractor’s performance and lack of progress has left us with no alternative but to take this action as soon as we have been advised that it is legally prudent to do so. The Government honours its contractual commitments and expects its contractual counterparties to do so as well. Taxpayers are entitled to the benefit of bargains struck on their behalf and therefore contracts bind and benefit both sides in equal measure.”
 
The tunnel, which cuts across the runway, is an essential part of a new road linking the new air terminal with the rest of Gibraltar.

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