Over EUR 700 thousand and two years later, water still pools in the underpass
In the framework of underpass construction projects in Ferizaj, designated Bashkimi i Qytetit (City Unification), on November 1, 2018, a contract was signed for the construction of the underpass for vehicles and pedestrians in the village of Nikadin in Ferizaj.
The LOT-II Construction of the underpass in the village of Nikadin by the Mosque project was signed in the amount of EUR 671,148.68 and according to the contract, work would start two days after the signing of the contract and finish after two years, which would be November 1, 2020.
The Nikadin underpass was inaugurated on October 22, 2022, approximately two years after the works were supposed to be completed according to the basic contract for this procurement procedure.
Regarding this matter the Director of Infrastructure in Ferizaj, Meriton Hajdini, who at the time was one of two contract managers appointed for the project, says that the Railway Authority, Infrakos, caused the delays.
“Initially, the Railway Authority gave its consent to start the works, but due to some railway procedures, we were asked to modify the project and until the revision and redesign of this underpass was done, the works did not start,” stated Hajdini.
In examining the project documents, we observed that the reasons for the delays were different from what Hajdini stated.
Although the contract provided for the works to begin on November 3, 2018, two days after its signing, the Construction Log showed the economic operator starting the work on March 11, 2019, when they rolled out route surveying, land measurement and surveying for sewerage.
According to the Construction Log, the works continued until March 22 of that year and stopped there.
According to the official documents of the Municipality of Ferizaj, on November 1, 2020, they signed an agreement with the economic operators Arlindi and Infra-Plus on the extension of the deadlines for the delivery of works until the end of 2021, on the grounds of lacking the required permit for construction on railway property, lacking funds, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the document in question, there is no explanation provided for why the works on this underpass were conducted for only 11 days and then halted, despite the postponement of deadlines being requested later, on the grounds of lacking the required permit from Infrakos.
The Municipality of Ferizaj finalized the contract for the start of works on this underpass under the railroad track without the final consent from the owner of the railroad track, i.e., Infrakos, the works continued only under the technical conditions offered by the latter, even though in these technical conditions it was stated that “[T]he investor is obliged to conduct the survey and develop the design of the pedestrian crossing under the railroad track and send a copy to the Kosovo Railways Authority Infrakos in Fushë Kosovë for revision and final consent.” Failure of the Municipality of Ferizaj to meet these obligations also led to the postponement of the works under this project.
Therefore, before starting construction of this underpass, the Municipality of Ferizaj should have submitted the survey and design to Infrakos, who in turn, as the owner of the railroad track under which the underpass was to be constructed, should have given its consent to conduct those works. Due to the negligence of the municipal institution and failure to submit the survey and design on time, the work on-site started without the necessary permit, leading to delays.
The work resumed on July 12, 2021, and continued until November 3 of the same year.
On December 22, 2021, a new request was made for a contract extension, on the grounds of a lack of funds and a need for the project to be harmonized with the EBRD project, therefore an additional year would be required to complete the work. On December 27 of that year, the decision was made to postpone the deadline until December 30, 2022.
Since this project had to be harmonized with the EBRD project in 2021, the Municipality of Ferizaj was compelled to sign a change order (Annex Contract) with the economic operators because of the additional works that arose.
With the change order signed on April 7, 2022, in the amount of EUR 64,296.00, the total value of the underpass project in Nikadin went up to EUR 735,444.68 of taxpayer money.
Similar to the basic contract, the works that were agreed to in the change order started late. The works on the underpass should have started immediately from the date of signing, however, according to the Construction Log the works there were not resumed until May 31, 2022, in violation of the deadline agreed between the Municipality and the economic operator.
In the documents provided by the Municipality of Ferizaj for this project, there is no record of any warning issued to the economic operator for the delays in the completion of works.
In response to a request for access to the documents, the Municipality of Ferizaj, provided only the Contract Management Plan showing the dates of completion for the works, but not the reports of the contract managers, which should also include the inspections of the works and/or eventual warnings.
For this procurement procedure, there were a total of nine bids submitted by different economic operators, some cheaper than that of the winner and some more expensive.
According to the bid evaluation report, the bid submitted by the group of Economic Operators ARLINDI LLC; N.N. Infra-Plus, in the amount of EUR 671,148.68, got the award as the cheapest bid from those that were declared responsive.
Below is a table showing all the bids by economic operators for this procurement procedure, as well as indicating whether that bid was declared responsive or unresponsive by the bid evaluation commission.
No. | Economic Operator | Bid | Responsive |
1. | “LEDI ING” | EUR 510,113.41 | No |
2. | “VIA” & “EUROKOS” | EUR 563,459.26 | No |
3. | “ARLINDI”; “Infra – Plus” | EUR 671,148.68 | Yes |
4. | “Best Company” & “BENI – COM” | EUR 671,356.82 | Yes |
5. | “P&I” & “ADA CONSULTING GROUP” | EUR 706,981,69 | No |
6. | “Company Eskavatori” & “Berisha Company” | EUR 738,642.42 | Yes |
7. | “Beni Construction” & “PRO & CO GROUP” | EUR 775,000.01 | No |
8. | “Linda” & “B-BARDHI” | EUR 775,568.05 | No |
9. | “Company Murseli” & “Konstruktori Ing.1969” | EUR 786,856.80 | No |
The Ministry of Infrastructure, pursuant to a Memorandum of Cooperation signed with the Municipality of Ferizaj in 2018, makes payments for this procurement activity. This Ministry has issued a total of six payment orders for the works conducted under this project, totaling EUR 735,444.68.
The payment orders from the Ministry were issued for the works monitored by the Municipality of Ferizaj.
For this project, the Municipality of Ferizaj also conducted the technical inspection acceptance on October 10, 2022.
The Technical Inspection Acceptance Commission accepted the works as technically compliant and granted permission for use of the facility.
Over EUR 700 thousand of taxpayer money was used to fund this project, but in the section of the underpass designated for pedestrians, as shown in images in rainy weather conditions, the water does not drain but remains on the pedestrian section used by the residents of Nikadin village.
View of the pedestrian underpass showing the pooling of rainwater
View of the drain grate on the pedestrian underpass
Regarding the problems in this underpass with water pooling, the Director of Infrastructure in Ferizaj, Meriton Hajdini, says that the works were not faulty.
“In terms of the pooling of water, we encountered the issue of drain grates clogged with leaves, which produced the impact witnessed during your visit of small amounts of water, but with the intervention and cleaning of the drain grates, everything is in order, the pipe is there Φ1000 and then there were no problems ever again,” stated Hajdini.
From the photographs, it can be observed that the ceiling is also in poor condition.
The ceiling of the underpass has what looks like water stains, caused by rainfall.
Stains on the ceiling of the pedestrian underpass
Regarding these views of the ceiling, Hajdini states that this underpass has working insulation.
“I have never noticed any moisture in the ceiling, the insulation has been completed, this insulation has been functional and there have been no problems, but we will look and examine whether there is a need for interventions in the future, but I do not believe that there is a need,” he added.
Ferizaj is often dubbed “Underpass City,” yet rarely is any attention given to the works done in these underpasses.
The wall of this section of the vehicle underpass is in the condition as seen in the pictures below.
Similar to the pedestrian underpass, the ceiling of the vehicle underpass is marred by stains.
Condition of the ceiling and sidewall in the underpass
View of the vehicle underpass
Condition of the sidewall in the underpass
The Director of Infrastructure says that in this underpass there are no cracks in any segment, while he also commented on the photographs.
“It is the dilation band, which according to the design is where the walls are connected, so it is a dilation band and not a crack,” he says.
Overall, Hajdini says that as at the Municipality they are satisfied with the works done on the underpass in Nikadin.
“The works delivered under this project were of good, high quality. All the tests have been conducted as required by the Kosovo Railways Authority, all the tests turned out well, and the project is functional and very good,” concluded Hajdini.
It is worth noting that neither the passenger train nor the freight train have passed over this underpass.
Disclaimer:
This article was produced under the project “Good governance: stronger public procurement and policy-making” funded by the European Union and implemented by Democracy Plus (D+). Its contents are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of D+ or the European Union.