No interest in winning $320,000 Tauranga drainage job

Concrete panels destined to be part of a reservoir were unloaded this week at the Pyes Pa water treatment works. Photo/Chris Kenny

A $320,000 Tauranga City Council stormwater contract failed to attract a single bidder because drainlayers were too busy.

"The city is going flat out regarding construction," council growth and infrastructure manager Christine Jones said.

She was explaining why the estimated 10-week contract for stormwater improvements in Mount Maunganui's industrial area failed to attract a tender.

Ms Jones said it was something the council was continuing to see and others in the market saw as well.

Thirty-four tender documents were downloaded from the web-based platforms used by the council. Asked why none of the contractors tendered, the council was told it was due to their workloads.

The council responded this week by agreeing to bypass the normal open tendering process and authorise GT Civil to do the work in Portside Dr and Tukorako Dr for $320,000.

WH Kelly Drainlayers manager Paul Gartner told the Bay of Plenty Times that he looked at the job but decided they did not need the grief of a design and build contract. "We were pretty much over-committed anyway."

He said there was such a strong demand for drainlayers that they had won tenders in which they were the only bidder. And when they rocked up to price small private jobs, people were pleased to see them.

Mr Gartner said the market was being driven by residential land developers who were responding to a strong demand for houses by opening up as many sections as possible.

"The market is hot, and they want titles before the market shifts."

Another issue created by the surge of development saw councillors agree to fast-track construction of a $4 million reservoir at the Pyes Pa water treatment works.

The reservoir was originally planned to be built in 2010 but was postponed after the Global Financial Crisis hit. Project manager Gareth John said development at The Lakes had recovered and lots were being released to the market at a "brisk rate".

He said the council needed to bring the reservoir into service in 2017-18. The complexities of the earthworks meant that the retaining wall and stormwater works were originally planned to happen next year.

"However due to the performance of the contractor and favourable weather conditions, there is an opportunity to accelerate the overall project."

The earthworks were now due to be completed by April 17. If the earthworks had not commenced immediately after the removal of the preloading material, the council would have lost two months and incurred extra contractor costs.

The council agreed to bring forward 2017-18 reservoir funding into the current financial year.

Pyes Pa reservoir costs
Design, consenting and tender documentation: $200,000
Removal of preload: $650,000
Retaining wall/stormwater works: $400,000
Reservoir construction: $2.747m