Following recent criticism by CLARO and Cambiemos that the Orihuela Town Hall was failing to supply agreed material for road works on the Orihuela Costa, in the quantity or quality necessary, the Joint Government Board, on Tuesday, announced that it had approved the award of a contract for the supply of materials for the maintenance of roads and public spaces on Orihuela Costa, in 3 different lots: building materials, industrial hardware materials and paints, to the company Materials de Construcción Zenia SL.
The total amount of the first lot is 121,000 euros (VAT included), the second lot amounts to 30,250 euros (VAT included), and the third lot has a total amount of 181,500 euros (VAT included).
This will supply the contractors with asphalt, hardware, paving stones, kerbs, paint and other materials necessary for maintenance of our roads and infrastructures, although, considering the appalling condition of Costa roads it is difficult to see how this will even come close to rectifying the many problems.
The duration of the contract shall be one year, extendable by another.
The initial decision by the council to award the contract was challenged legally, leading to it being reassigned by the courts.
It was speculated that the motive behind the efforts to subsequently frustrate the implementation of the contract, was to force its abandonment by breaking the winning company financially, through denying payment for work carried out, or to provide grounds for declaring breach of contract and consequently, by whichever means, enabling the contract to be reassigned, presumably back to the council’s preferred bidder.
Image courtesy AVOCA Asociación de vecinos Orihuela Costa en Acción – antes AVCRL
