PTDF to penalize defaulting contractors

The Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) has restated its commitment to live up to its contractual obligations to contractors executing its various projects across the country and has equally warned that it  will not hesitate to invoke relevant penalty clauses on any defaulting contractor who fail to live up to his obligation.

Executive Secretary of the fund, Dr Oluwole Oluleye,  who issued the warning in Port Harcourt during his maiden visit to the national skill acquisition centre project being executed by the fund, disclosed also that, the fund will in the same vein find a means of rewarding all performing contractors who live up to their billings.

Oluleye’s visit to the national skills acquisition centre in Port Harcourt was his first to any major project, outside the federal capital since his appointment and resumption of duty in May this year with the first, being a visit to the ongoing works at the PTDF headquarters building in the central business district of the federal capital city of Abuja.

The agency had in the execution of its mandate embarked on the development of a skills development and training centre in Port Harcourt as part of its contribution to the amnesty initiative of the federal government, requiring it to develop a centre that will provide basic skills in the oil and gas Industry to youths who are unemployed.

Oluleye further expressed pleasure with the quality of work so far being executed at the centre, in spite of the challenges of funding and assured that, the fund is trying its best to ensure that the place is fully completed and made to function by April 2014.

“Our emphasis at the PTDF is to ensure that project on hand are completed as soon as possible and we are making all effort to ensure that funding is made available for those contractors, all contractors have the same problem but for those who have not lived up to expectations we would look at the penalty clauses and try to enforce them, for those who have done well, we would try for them and ensure that, they are paid as quickly as possible”, he said.