Sh1.4bn dispute at Kiambu’s Tatu City halts building work
Construction at the multi-billion-shilling Tatu City in Kiambu County has been stopped temporarily by the High Court over a Sh1.4 billion dispute. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
Tatu City gave Ongata Works 14 days to leave the project.
But the contractor went to court and obtained orders restraining the developer from evicting them.
Ongata Works accused Tatu City of frustrating and obstructing their work and changing instructions along the way.
Construction at the multi-billion-shilling Tatu City in Kiambu County has been stopped temporarily by the High Court over a Sh1.4 billion dispute.
While extending the orders granted on December 22, Justice Francis Tuiyot directed Ongata Works to execute a bond of Sh140 million as a condition for granting the injunction.
In the latest dispute, Tatu City Ltd differed with Ongata Works Ltd, a local contractor hired to construct trunk and access roads and other infrastructure at the expansive project at a cost of Sh1,442,460,961.
The contractor and the developer differed on December 13 after Tatu City ordered Ongata Works to leave the site, citing failure by the contractor to comply with certain instructions.
Tatu City gave Ongata Works 14 days to leave the project.
But the contractor went to court and obtained orders restraining the developer from evicting them and taking over the site pending the hearing of the case.
Ongata Works accused Tatu City of frustrating and obstructing their work and changing instructions along the way leading to delays in completion.
On December 22, Justice Joseph Onguto ordered the status quo to be maintained, meaning the contractor would remain on the site pending the hearing and determination of the case, but no construction work would go on.
He directed that the application be placed before another Judge, Francis Tuiyot, on January 3 for further directions.
And when the matter came before Justice Tuiyot, the judge extended the order suspending the construction pending the hearing of the application on January 16.
In their application, Tatu City argued that extending the order for status quo would make them liable to third parties to the tune of $7,047,547 (about Sh700 million).
The Tatu City project comprises a residential development, industrial park, retail, commercial and recreational facilities. The developer tendered for the construction of the roads and the contract was awarded to Ongata on September 9, 2016.
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