Skip to main content

Taiwan bureau threatens Kuo Teng over its Kinmen Bridge work

Taiwan’s National Expressway Engineering Bureau said it would terminate its contract with Kuo Teng Construction company because of issues over the construction schedule of Kinmen Bridge. Work on the bridge connecting the main island of Greater Kinmen and Lieyu, also known as Little Kinmen, began in 2013 after it had been a campaign promise in five presidential elections. The bureau recently said that work on the bridge was nearly 19% behind schedule and reportedly gave the company 30 days to bring the pro
June 2, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
Taiwan’s National Expressway Engineering Bureau said it would terminate its contract with Kuo Teng Construction company because of issues over the construction schedule of Kinmen Bridge.

Work on the bridge connecting the main island of Greater Kinmen and Lieyu, also known as Little Kinmen, began in 2013 after it had been a campaign promise in five presidential elections.

The bureau recently said that work on the bridge was nearly 19% behind schedule and reportedly gave the company 30 days to bring the project back on schedule.

The Taipei Times reported that it could lead to a change of contractor for a third time.

Kuo Teng Construction has also been told to increase the number of workers, speed up material delivery to the site and to use more efficient equipment.

“The contractor failed to bring in partners that were equipped with better machinery for the project, even though it was facing a shortage of workers and construction materials and clearly lacks the ability to handle the project on its own,” the bureau said in a statement. “The contractor had fallen behind the construction schedule by 16%...which shows that it has neither the ambition nor the determination to expedite the progress of the work.”

The Times also reported that the bureau had informed Kuo Teng Construction in February that delays to the bridge’s construction meant the firm was barred from bidding for government projects for one year.

Public construction commission minister Wu Hong-mo was reported saying most government agencies prefer to choose the bidders that offer the cheapest packages, fearing criticism that otherwise they would be wasting taxpayers’ money.

Wu said his top priority is to make sure government workers are not afraid to hire firms that present the most comprehensive bids, adding that the commission would lay out the types of projects to which this bidding method applies.

Related Content

  • COWI wins Massey Tunnel design contract
    February 18, 2022
    COWI will develop an eight-lane immersed tunnel for the George Massey Crossing Project near Vancouver, Canada.
  • New bridge connection planned for Taiwan
    March 26, 2018
    Work looks set to start during 2018 on Taiwan’s new Tamkang Bridge project. The construction is expected to cost in the order of US$429 million, with the work being carried out by the contractor, Kung Sing Engineering, with completion expected in 2020. The project has been split into three phases, constructing a road from the Port of Taipei, building the 920m-long bridge itself and a new road from the bridge to Bali. This last section of the project has already been completed however. Once the entire
  • Plain sailing for Caterpillar’s PM 300 series
    February 22, 2019
    Caterpillar’s revamped small cold planers have upped the stakes in the urban refurbishing market. World Highways deputy editor David Arminas recently caught up with A.J. Lee, global segment manager, on Spain’s Costa del Sol
  • Taiwan road contract faces delays
    October 9, 2015
    The 38.8km improvement project for Taiwan’s Suhua Highway now looks to be delayed until 2019. The opening of the route is being delayed by a combination of factors including landslides and archeological discoveries. The improvement works include upgrades to a number of key bridges and mountain tunnels like sections from Suao to Dongao, Nanao to Heping and Heping to Daqingshui. The project is costing US$1.42 billion. The project was originally scheduled to be completed in 2017. The delays involve relocation