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

  • Legal case underway over materials testing for Chinese bridge
    January 11, 2019
    A legal dispute has arisen regarding some of the materials testing processes carried out for the landmark Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge project. The argument is focusing on whether or not 12 technicians manipulated the results of testing concrete samples taken from the bridge during construction. It is alleged that managers of the test facility told the technicians to change the time settings on the equipment carrying out the tests, due to samples not being tested within the eight hour time period require
  • A history lesson in private public partnerships
    April 12, 2012
    Michel Démarre gives some historical insights into public-private partnerships conceived to implement urban infrastructure projects, a concept that surprisingly dates back to as early as the 13th century! All over the world today, the role of public authorities in the process of planning and, in most cases, designing, financing and procuring urban roads is paramount. Even for modifications to existing roads, decisions are made by these public authorities (usually after due consultation with the population)
  • Airport expansion for the Maldives assisted by Trimble
    September 6, 2019
    An airport redevelopment and expansion project in the Maldives has been assisted by the use of technology from Trimble. In 2016 the Chinese firm Beijing Urban Construction Group (BUCG) was awarded the contract for the expansion of the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport on Hulhule island in the Maldives, which is part of the Indian Ocean island group. The massive US$440 million expansion and land reclamation work is intended to boost capacity at the Maldives Airport. BUCG has utilised Trimble field solu
  • Norway’s massive Rogfast Tunnel project
    December 11, 2018
    The world's longest and deepest road tunnel is underway in western Norway - Adrian Greeman reports