Government has warned contractors who get paid and fail to finish the projects that they will be followed up and made to pay the money as well as penalties.
This warning was made by the Director of Roads, Kabo Kote, during a press conference he addressed jointly with the Minister of Transport and communications, Frank Ramsden.
Kote warned the defaulters that they will be banned from tendering for government projects in future.
Ramsden revealed that some of the defaulting contractors had abandoned projects soon after being paid 10 percent demobilisation payments whilst others have just piled sand on the roads then abandoned the projects.
This, he explained, has mainly happened in small feeder roads that have been preserved for small local contractors.
The Minister also said that his Ministry, through the Department of Roads, has embarked on a number of major roads developments throughout the country to connect the nation as part of growing the overall economy.
He said that the projects encompass new roads and re-construction of roads projects such as Tsabong ÔÇôMiddlepits ÔÇôBokspits , Ngoma-kachikao, Kang Tsetseng, Letlhakeng- Motokwe – Morwamosu as new projects and Francistown- Ramokgwebana , Dibete ÔÇô Mahalapye as examples of reconstruction projects.
The Minister also said that, while their primary objective remains connecting the breadth of the country, there is a new challenge being to cater for traffic congestion and delays, a major occurrence in urbanised centers. Examples of such projects are Gaborone Tlhokweng and Metsimotlhabe ÔÇô Gaborone roads.
Besides that, he said that there are a lot of bypass projects planned for major villages.
On updates of roads, which are currently being up graded, he said Gaborone Tlokweng Border Post Road is progressing well besides the delays arising from reallocation of services, removal of properties within the road reserve and failure to obtain suitable road building materials from designated borrow pits.
The road is expected to be complete by April 2011.
He said that the Western Bypass Metsimotlhabe dual road is also progressing well, with a good length of Metsimotlhabe Gaborone lane having been opened for use by traffic.
He added that other sections of the road that had already opened are Grand Palm Junction to Molapo Crossing, Bokamoso Hospital and GIPS Junction and Molapo Crossing signaled intersection.
The minister said that the project is expected to be complete in June 2011. Nata Kazungula reconstruction is expected to be complete by 2012.
He pointed out that on account of the current global economic meltdown, a number of roads projects have been shelved until the situation improve.
The current economic meltdown, he said, has also forced them to improvise by identifying public highway network for asset preservation by widening , resealing and asphalt overlay as in Rasesa ÔÇô Monametsana Road, which is due to be completed in 6 to 12 months.
On airports developments, he said that Sir Seretse Khama International Airport, which will handle 979 typical peak passengers per hour, is scheduled to be completed in two phases.
Operation in Phase 1 of the new terminal, Ramsden said, started on 22 May, 2010 while Phase II is expected to be complete around January 2012.
Runway extension, he said, was completed on 13 July 2009 while taxiway was completed in March at a total cost of P291, 2 million.
Construction of the new Francistown terminal building facility, which will handle 477 typical peak hour passengers, was expected to be completed in December 2010, whilst on the Maun airport the runway of 3, 7 km was in progress and developments scheduled to be completed in January 2012.
