Garden Route Dam contractor withdraws tender

GEORGE NEWS - The contractor who was appointed to raise the spillway of the Garden Route Dam after more than 10 years of delays, has withdrawn its tender.

The news broke yesterday afternoon and was confirmed today by George Municipal Manager, Trevor Botha.

George Municipality received a letter from the contractor on Tuesday (20 March), informing the municipality of their “regretful withdrawal of their tender”.

“As there was only one responsive tender, the municipality is now compelled to call for new tenders and the process to appoint a new contractor will take at least 3 months with envisaged construction start date of July 2018,” says Botha. “George Municipality shares the public’s disappointment, but remains confident that the project will proceed once the process to procure a new contractor is concluded.”

The raising of the Garden Route Dam spillway is a key project that has been subjected to numerous and lengthy delays over a period of nearly 10 years.

On 13 March, just a week before the contractor withdrew his tender, the George Municipality issued a press release informing the public that the raising of the dam wall was finally going ahead. The George Herald carried the article on 15 March.