By Our Reporters
“We are very excited. The works are going on smoothly. If the project proceeds at this pace, we shall have a smooth ride next year,” Nathan Ngobi a resident of Nakalama said in a recent interview. James Wandera, who operates business in the area, agrees. “We are satisfied with the speed at which the construction is going. We are enjoying a cordial working relationship with the contractor.” Another resident says the road activities have improved local people’s earnings. “My sales have shot up since the start of the project. Hundreds of local people, who have been unemployed, have been absorbed by the project and this has increased income in the community and my sales.” All these unanimously positive comments are in reference to the ongoing upgrade works for the Tirinyi-Nakalama-Mbale road. Stretching 99.2kms, the road project previously became controversial following widely publicized disagreements between UNRA (the Employer) and DOTT Services Uganda Ltd (the Contractor). Gratefully, the storm finally settled and DOTT Services has since resumed construction. And it’s the enthusiasm and speed with which the Contractor has proceeded that has created euphoria among local residents-and made Works Minister Monica Azuba wish to forget the complex past as soon as she can. Whereas the project is designed to last 25 months (counting from July 2018), DOTT has already delivered 30% of the work manifesting unprecedented capabilities. This clearly shows high likelihood the contractor will deliver 100% of the job ahead of scheduled time. And this is something DOTT Services contracts’ manager Eng Jameone Olonya is very proud of. “Currently we have completed 32kms of Asphalt Surface out of 99.2kms. This approximates the current progress at around 30%.” The Contract Agreement required DOTT Services to (after re-mobilization) complete 4kms per month. This means in seven (7) months, 28kms is what UNRA expected them to have delivered by this time. Gratefully, they have exceeded it by 4 additional kms.
AZUBA COMMENDS DOTT;
Olonya brags that, because of the strong designs and plans, Tirinyi-Mbale is going to be the strongest road in Uganda. Commending UNRA management for their cooperation, Olonya says they have also completed Cross Drainage Works covering nearly 70kms. Works Minister Monica Ntege Azuba is optimistic the high performance and timely delivery of the road will strengthen Employer-Contractor relationship between UNRA and DOTT Services. “As the political leadership of the sector, we are pleased because the contractor has made good progress. And all this has been possible because they buried hatchet and agreed to work with UNRA. It was critical that they accepted direct supervision by the Employer [UNRA],” Azuba told this news website when asked about Mbale-Tirinyi road. It’s even more fulfilling that, being a locally-registered company, DOTT’ retention complies with BuBu policy which stresses local content and building capacity for local contractors. UNRA management are equally enthused and are certain work will move even faster once the critical section of the road (Mpologoma swamp) is covered and exceeded. “Work is progressing well. There’s better and improved performance as compared to before. It’s a positive step that they have completed about 32kms out of 99.2kms of the contracted road,” UNRA said in a recent media statement.
IMPORTANT ROAD;
And it isn’t hard to understand why locals and area MPs badly want this road completed. “It will reduce driving time, improve road safety and decongest Iganga-Bugiri-Tororo route,” says Ivan Bwayo who drives a matatu (taxi mini bus) in the area. The road connects the regional towns to the national motorway network. The Contractor has created strong bonding with the community by prioritizing their children (local content) when allocating job opportunities. “Life will become a lot easier for people going about their businesses once the road is completed. It has been a hassle for travelers between Mbale and Iganga having to meander through longer distances. Travel time on such routes is going to be diminished by 40%,” says Stephen Mboizi a radio journalist in Mbale. Eng Jameone Olonya (who heads contracts at Dott Services) commends the sector leadership that worked hard to reconcile them with UNRA because it’s the current harmonious relationship (more than anything else) that has led to this progress.
FULL INTERVIEW:
Olonya spoke out on many other things as captured in a long interview whose
excerpts follow below:
QN: What is the latest progress on Nakalama-Tirinyi-Mbale Road?
ANS: Currently we have completed 32kms of Asphalt Surface out of 99.2kms. This is approximately 30% progress. We are reasonably ahead of schedule given that the Contract Agreement required us to deliver 4Kms per month from July 2018 [after re-mobilization]. We have also completed Cross Drainage Works covering nearly 70kms stretch out of the 99.23kms road length.
QN: There were challenges between your company and UNRA on this particular road. How did you resolve them?
ANS: Every contract will have its own challenges due to various factors. In the same way, Tirinyi-Mbale project faced designs and contract management-related issues. Gratefully these were eventually resolved amicably paving way for the successful project execution as evidenced from the current progress. We are very grateful to UNRA management for the cooperation they have exhibited ever since we got back on the road.
QN: What were those contractual issues?
ANS: The originally tendered contract, which was envisaged to be implemented at the tender stage, was substantially changed during execution. This was due to fact that the road had reached its terminal stage requiring more than simply the overlay of the Asphalt but enhancement of the underlying layers as well improving pavement bearing capacity. There was also an increase in the axle load and the general traffic conditions. There was significant deterioration of the existing culverts. Since they were mostly metal culverts, many were vandalized over time while others were mostly corroded requiring replacement. These necessitated the Employer to significantly change the designs and re-scoping of the work which consequently brought about big variations in the contract. That is how all those contractual issues resulted. However, all these were later resolved amicably and incorporated in the Contract Agreement and that’s why we are here doing the job.
QN: Tell us more about the profiling of this new scope of work.
ANS: Whereas UNRA is better suited to detail the design deliverables, we believe that the revised designed which we are currently implementing is a considerably robust improvement of the road. It’s going to have much better pavement than what was in the earlier requirement because it’s made out of three strong pavement layers and this is why: The works now go down to improvement of the sub grade with G30 grade gravel and the benching and widening of narrower stretches to accommodate 9.6 meters of the road width to allow for 7 meters of carriageway and relative shoulders. Other features are Mechanical modification of existing Crushed Stone Base with an addition of new Crush Rock Material (CRR) providing improved Sub-Base; provision of additional Crush Rock Material (CRR) layer of Base Course with some locations having double layers of the Crushed Rock Base courses and the final Surface is a provision of 50mm thick Asphalt Concrete (Grade AC 20). We are also replacing all the existing old Cross Pipe Culverts with new Concrete Pipe and Box Culverts of 900mm and 1200mm diameter. Some of the box culverts are of 8 Cells of about 2 x 2 meters each and this caters for the huge volume of water especially in the swamps. In all, there will be 44 Box Culverts, 124 Pipe Culverts of 900mm and 1200mm diameter, numerous 600mm access culverts and lined side drains. This is providing substantially more cross culverts and box culverts compared to the 10 locations that were in the original tendered Scope of Works.
QN: When do we expect full completion and delivery of this much delayed road project?
ANS: May 2020 is when we shall handover the road in accordance with the Contract Agreement.
QN: You are a firm with lots of multi-tasking capabilities. What are the other projects that you are simultaneously handling as DOTT Services?
ANS: The company is currently involved in a number of works which (in Uganda) include construction of Arua Town Water and Sewerage project, Kampala Main sewage and pipeline (passing through Kampala City & connecting to Kinawataka Treatment Scheme) and the construction of Waki Hydro Power Project in Bulisa. We are also constructing Power Lines across the country (covering Nakaseke, Nakasongola Luwero, Kiboga, Kyankwanzi, Kamuli and Buyende districts). We are also constructing irrigation schemes in Doho, Buteleja district and Rweganju in Fort Portal (Kabarole district). We are also constructing Arua Market and also doing work on the Presidential Initiative for Banana Industrial Development (PIBID). We are also involved in Yumbe hospital construction. In Tanzania we are currently involved in the upgrading of Mtwara-Mnivata section (50kms) road project in the southern part of the country.
QN: We understand you also have a presence in India. What’s the latest there?
ANS: Yes lots of work there as well. We are working on a Four Lane Concrete Highway and another 57.4kms job from Bugga to Kaipa (NH-544D) in Andhra Pradesh state. We also have a major coal Mining Project in Ramagundam, Telegana state. Currently our order book (overall) stands at about $600m and our company employs more than 3,000 people in all the geographical jurisdictions.
QN: Looking back to the recent past what are some of the jobs you have delivered over the years?
ANS: We have successfully completed more than 100 projects in Uganda and across the globe in various engineering disciplines. In road works alone, we have tarmacked over 700kms.
QN: Why is it that some roads you have constructed are rougher or smoother than others? Will give a few examples to illustrate these variations in the ride qualities yet all are done by you same contractor: roads like Kagamba-Ishaka are smoother than the rough terrain of Mbale-Tororo-Soroti. How do you rationalize these differences in quality?
ANS: The jurisdiction of a Contractor is always specific doing only what the Employer has instructed him to do. And usually roads have different specifications which could be upgrades, reconstructions, rehabilitations, periodic maintenance etc. Therefore some roads are of higher specifications than others depending on the requirement chosen by the Employer. As such some of the lower specifications are of Double Surface Dressing Treatment (DBST) on a given Pavement Layer (Chemically Stabilized Gravel Base or Mechanically Modified Base) while others have a better Pavement which is construction using pure Crushed Stone Base on an improved Sub-Base whether cement stabilized or Mechanically Modified Crush Stone with an improved Subgrade as its foundation.
QN: So how does this specifically apply to a road like Tororo-Mbale-Soroti regarding the ride qualities thereon?
ANS: That road particularly by the requirement of the Employer was an “Interim Stop-Gap Measure.” The project was initially envisaged as partial rehabilitation without any changes to the vertical and horizontal alignment which was later changed to full rehabilitation works with relatively low specifications. The designs were delayed by almost 18 months which was the original contract period and this led us to implement it with a substantially revised design and scope of work. Yes the project was of inferior quality because it was an intervention measure opted by the Employer in anticipation of a World Bank “Performance Based Road Contract (OPRC)” which would substantially improve the road all the way from Tororo up to Corner Kamdin. So the Tororo-Soroti-Mbale road’s intervention was to secure the life span for an additional 3-4 years as an emergency measure. It is the reason it was called “staged reconstruction project” but both projects were successfully completed: Mbale-Tororo in 2014 and Mbale-Soroti in 2015 respectively.
QN: And Ishaka-Kagamba?
ANS: That was an upgrade project with a much superior specification. The project road was constructed using pure Crushed Stone (CRR) Base with Asphalt Concrete surfacing-and that’s what the Employer opted to have there. Ours is just project execution as instructed.
QN: So how do such project variations impact on the project cost/price differences?
ANS: The per km cost of Tororo-Mbale-Soroti Road [being of a much lower specification] was $0.5m while the cost per km for Ishaka-Kagamba was $1.2m due to higher specifications and terrain. It’s like being contracted and specified to supply a corolla and being up being expected to consequently supply a Mercedes Benz Station Wagon. That is why when the public drives on both roads, the difference in quality is easily noticeable. And because the Contractor always remains in the eye of the public, all the blame goes to him and vice versa. But in actual sense, the Contractor only carries out works as per the designs opted for by the Employer and works under the instructions of the Employer (or the Consultant). The interim payments are made at regular intervals to the Contractor for the work done after the approval of the works carried out on daily basis. And this [verification] process goes through a stringent protocol of approvals of laboratory tests etc by the Employer.
QN: But there were concerns Kagamba- Ishaka delayed and wasn’t delivered on time.
ANS: First of all we are proud of the quality work we did on that road. The delay was caused majorly by issues relating to right of way and compensation challenges. Particularly the construction period was supposed to be 2 years but compensation alone [which is for the Employer] took more than 4 years. The contract commenced in February 2012 and a clear continuous stretch of just 5kms free of any encumbrances was only availed [to the Contractor] in October 2013. This was 20 months into the contract period. That’s how the delay resulted. It had nothing to do with the Contractor. Compensation isn’t for the Contractor. It’s for the Employer. DOTT Services endeavored to work on the little available section and subsequently finished and delivered the quality road as soon as the Employer completed compensation and availed us the site unencumbered. Even with all these facts, DOTT Services has sometimes been blamed for delaying the works which is a pure misconception and falsehood. You need to drive there and have better appreciation of the super quality job that was done.
QN: From your submissions it appears Dott Services has always excelled doing a good job but remains very poor at PR. Why has this been the case?
ANS: Well could be right to say that. You know DOTT Services is an infrastructure company carrying out public works majorly in road construction which depends on the Employer for business. Matters of confidentiality are usually enshrined in the contract. And like any other contractor, contract clauses won’t permit us to disclose the challenges we come across to the public especially when the project is ongoing. The 4 directors of DOTT Services [who are qualified engineers with Degrees in Civil, Mechanical and Automobile Engineering disciplines] believed in work hoping it should speak for itself. Below the directors is a pool of engineers who equally believed in work, work and work. We always believed that people would see for themselves and appreciate the result of our products and not exactly through PR. We had honestly considered that if we are given a contract, what matters is to ensure that the project is completed on time and with quality. Little did we know that Public Relations mattered for a company as big as DOTT Services. This was a mistake on our part and our competitors capitalized on that weakness to tarnish our company using all sorts of methods at their disposal. But lies always crumble and can’t last forever. Our excellent reputation is glaringly clear that no amount of lies can taint it forever. Our track record remains impeccable. There is no specific project where DOTT failed to perform or carry out its duty to the required quality standards. You can’t find any. We are an adequately-resourced company with professional manpower, huge fleet of machinery and equipment, asphalt plants, concrete batching plants and crushing plants spread across the country. We have also adequately invested in the stone quarries.
QN: What would be your parting shot to stakeholders and general public out there?
ANS: We remain focused on ensuring quality execution of works at hand and to complete them on schedule to the satisfaction of our clients. We shall also continue leveraging on our past works whose quality is visible and speaks for itself. I will illustrate this by citing some examples including Kafu-Masindi Road which we did nearly 14 years ago. To-date it has not developed any pothole and yet it has lowest maintenance costs. It has stood the test of its design life. Then we have Muduuma-Mityana Road just to mention a few. It’s with that commitment that DOTT Services Uganda has competed and won big tenders in Tanzania, South Sudan and India. We have succeeded because our excellent record gives us advantage. Where few challenges have arisen on projects it is due to things like delayed compensation, delayed designs and instructions which every contractor faces world over. Such is definitely beyond our control as I earlier on explained. For comments, call, text or whatsapp us on 0703164755.
