Contractors rehabilitating Parliamentary Buildings in Kimihurura are in disarray as the November deadline nears.The contractors; Thomas and Piron Company, based in Belgium and Fair Construction Co., were in April given a seven-month extension but still look time-barred as much more rehabilitation and construction work on the buildings is yet to be done.Originally, the two companies were given 15 months, from January 2006 to April this year, to rehabilitate the House’s plenary session structure and construct a new block to house the Senate president’s office and his secretariat.The building was left in ruins following the 1994 Genocide when it was prayed with bullets from the then government forces targeting 600 soldiers and officers belonging to the then rebel Rwandese Patriotic Army (RPA). The current Chief of Staff for Land Forces, Lt. Gen. Charles Kayinga was leading the contingent which was created under a failed Arusha agreement. Cyprien Gatorano, an engineer of the supervising company – Rhein Ruhr International, attributed the looming delays to the fact that they were assigned other construction works during the contract extension.“We still have a long way to go and I believe that we’re working very hard to see that work is completed within the shortest time possible,” Gatorano said, adding that it would be difficult to beat the November 6 deadline.“There were buildings that were not planned for in the earlier contract which we have included on the programme; that’s why we have taken all this time,” he explained. He also said that some equipment like doors, tiles and windows used are being imported from Europe and transporting them sometimes leads to delays in the construction process. He disclosed that the constructors are planning to ask for another extension. Under the contract, the two companies are supposed to construct trenches, fences and renovate parking lots. The European Union is funding both the rehabilitation and construction works at the tune of Frw407 billion.Ends
