June 13: The government and the private sector must work together to improve the booming construction industry said the Works and Human Settlement Minister Lyonpo Yeshey Zimba. He was speaking at a meeting with the representatives of the Construction Association of Bhutan.

He said the private sector must assume more responsibility in terms of ensuring quality, not resorting to corrupt practices, and timely completion of work.

The government on its part must ensure that the policies are more conducive. The government must take into account the problems faced by the private sector and provide necessary support. But he said malpractice, corruption, and fronting will not be tolerated.

The meeting began with the contractors raising the issue of bill payment Provision. Contractors said delay in the payment of bills is hampering their work. Some said different organization and agencies have different rules for bill payment. Bureaucratic hassles were pointed out as other reasons.

The Executive Director of the Construction Development Board said bill payment is partly being delayed because some of the contractors are not familiar with the processing of bills. Some times the required documents are not available.

The Works and Human Settlement Minister Lyonpo Yeshy Zimba said the bill payment is a long standing issue and should be solved at the earliest.

The President of the Construction Association of Bhutan Ugyen Tshechup Dorji said one of the major problems faced by the construction sector today is the tender document.

Some contractors said the time period given for the projects should be adequate to ensure quality construction. The President of the Construction Association of Bhutan said the quality of the work partly depends on the time given for the construction.

The other issue raised was the need to allow petty or class D contractors to carry out two works at a time.

The Executive Director of the Construction Development Board Wangdi Gyeltshen said most of the petty contractors do not have adequate experience and resources. Therefore, he said they are not given two works a time.

The Works and Human Settlement Minister said the issue needs to be discussed properly since quality of work is at stake.

The technical evaluation system for newly upgraded contractors was discussed with some contractors pointing out that the system should be done away. They said the works are tendered out on the basis of technical capability.

Contractors said past track record should be given importance over technical capability.

The Works and Human Settlement Minister said past work performance should be the priority. He said the scale of the work undertaken doesn’t matter. What matters is how well the works were carried out in terms of quality and timely completion.

Contractors also pointed out that contrary to the government policy of promoting private sector growth, many government projects are executed by the departments. They said the opportunity should be given to the private contractors. Road maintenance was pointed out as one of the works that private contractors could take up.

The President of the Construction Association of Bhutan Ugyen Tshechup Dorji proposed that the Construction Association of Bhutan be transformed into Construction Development Authority. This, he said will enable them to exercise full authority in matters relating to the construction Industry.

He also proposed for formation of construction development fund. He said the fund has the support of contractors across the country. It will help strengthen the construction industry.

The meeting decided that the tender document would be revised. A committee will be formed among the contractors to discuss the problems faced by the construction sector and put up a proposal to the ministry, which will be reviewed by the government. The Works and Human Settlement Minister said issues raised will be looked into.