The ministry of road transport and highways have mandated 100% inspection check of quality tests undertaken by contractors in the engineering procurement and construction (EPC) mode of contract by authority engineer for all highway projects as well as for the request for proposal (RFP) document for consultancy services for such projects.
This will apply to all road and bridge construction under EPC mode and will kick in for new projects. The EPC mode of contract gives the entire responsibility of design and construction to the contractor and therefore has a longer defect liability period cum maintenance period of 5-10 years.“Considering the current practices in highway projects and greater emphasis on meeting strength and serviceability requirements in respect of components of a highway project over respective design periods, modifications have been made to the model EPC agreement and RFP for consultancy services for authority’s engineer for supervision of EPC projects,” the ministry said in a notification on Thursday.
Under the amended model EPC agreement, the ministry notified that the engineer will witness all the quality control tests carried out by the contractor as against 50% of the quality of the number of tests prescribed earlier for supervision.
As per the amended request for proposal document for consultancy services for such projects, the ministry mandated engineers to now witness all the quality control tests carried out by the contractor against 60% of the number of tests prescribed earlier for quality control for supervision.
“Notwithstanding 100% test checks by the authority engineers, nothing shall relieve the contractor of its obligations and liabilities under this agreement in any manner,” it clarified, reiterating that the contractor shall be responsible for correction and will bear the cost in case of any error, omission, ambiguity, inconsistency, inadequacy or defects in the quality of construction.The government has awarded 14,748 km of highway projects with total capital cost of Rs 4,06,024 crore on EPC mode under the Bharatmala Phase 1 out of the total 26,425 km of road length awarded till March 31, 2024 with an estimated capital cost of Rs 8,53,656 crore under the umbrella scheme.
