The Kenya Bureau of Standards headquarters in Nairobi. Kebs has extended the pre-shipment inspection for motor vehicles contract for two of the three firms that have been offering the service since 2012. PHOTO | FILE |
What you need to know:
Centurion Engineers & Builders Ltd., who were awarded the tender to carry out alteration and extension to bio-chemical laboratories at Kebs headquarters in 2009, allegedly increased the cost of the project from the initial Sh79 million to Sh458 million.
The Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) is entangled in a dispute with a contractor over a Sh458 million claim arising from a laboratory construction contract, which the standards body says was inflated.
Kebs, in the suit filed at Milimani Commercial Court, claims Centurion Engineers & Builders Ltd increased the cost of the project from the initial Sh79 million to Sh458 million in collusion with the architect.
The contractor, who was awarded the tender to carry out alteration and extension to bio-chemical laboratories at Kebs headquarters in 2009, allegedly inflated the total cost.
The dispute was referred to an arbitrator, Onesmus Mwangi Gichuiri, who Kebs wants removed from presiding over the matter claiming he is biased.
“The nature of the dispute was that illegal variations were approved by the architect in collusion with the respondents which operated to inflate the value of the contract beyond the original sum of Sh79,910,440 to Sh485,244,331.59,” says Charles Ongwae, Kebs managing director in court documents.
Mr Ongwae claims that despite Kebs having paid Engineers & Builders Sh111.2 million, the firm is allegedly still asking for Sh371 million.
The Ministry of Industrialisation PS asked the Public Works ministry to evaluate the value of the work done by the contractor.
The ministry subsequently came up with report which put the value of the work at Sh274 million.
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