CONTRACTORS awarded maintenance work to upgrade the state's primary schools are still waiting on pricing to be finalised less than six weeks before the scheduled completion of some of the contracts.
CONTRACTORS awarded maintenance work to upgrade the state's primary schools are still waiting on pricing to be finalised less than six weeks before the scheduled completion of some of the contracts.
It is understood unexpected costs have arisen in order to complete the work after contractors quoted for the generic work without seeing the actual schools, as instructed by the tender process.
The extra work, coupled with requests from schools for work that may differ slightly from the boilerplate contracts, has resulted in a hold-up as the government signs off on the new pricing.
Contractors told WA Business News they had maintenance work to be completed by the end of November, and other contracts that had to be done by mid January, or they were at risk of not receiving the federal government stimulus money.
The state is administering funds under the federal government's Building the Education Revolution program, which is expected to inject $1 billion in maintenance and new capital works into WA public schools within two years.
The maintenance work in question is part of Element 3 of the program, designed for minor works in local schools.
It is understood some contracts are also yet to be finalised for major school works contained in the stimulus package.
The Western Australian Department of Treasury and Finance did not respond to specific WA Business News questions concerning Element 3.
Instead, the department said contracts covering 90 per cent of the overall program had been awarded and work had started at those schools.
“There has been no reduction in scope or scale for any project, metropolitan or regional; every school will receive what they applied for under the [Building the Education Revolution] program, and no school will 'go without' due to their grant being too low," the department said.
While numerous local constructors won work in Element 3, a handful of major construction companies, including John Holland and Pindan Constructions, won the bulk of the work for the more lucrative major projects.
In an inquiry into the federal economic stimulus initiative, the principal of Hillside Christian School, Jim Heslop, said the schools package had allowed the Forrestfield school to undertake an extensive development program much earlier than otherwise would have been possible.
“The funds have allowed the school to address its key buildings projects and to therefore offer a higher standard of opportunity for our students," Mr Heslop said.
The school is building a library and four new classrooms, while old demountable classrooms are being relocated.
“More than that, we will be able to address key issues of deep sewerage, upgrading electricity, overcoming ongoing drainage problems, and mobility around the school (paths and roadways) at the same time," Mr Heslop wrote in his submission.
