KUWAIT CITY, Oct 8: The Public Authority for Roads and Land Transport (PART) said Acting Director of the Authority, Suha Ashkanani has requested all directors of highways departments who are in charge of maintenance to prepare a list of all roads and highways that need immediate laying of asphalt and also a list of highways where asphalt laying has been completed which fall under the guarantee period, reports Al-Rai daily quoting sources.

The acting director said the work must be completed before the rainy season and PART must be given time to raise the issue with the Minister of Public Works Dr Rana Al-Faris who in turn can address the issue to the Central Agency for Public Tenders (CAPT) to prepare the floating of tenders in accordance with Article 85 of Law No. 49 / 2016 regarding public tenders.

However, some sources asked, “What if the teams assigned to find locations find damage in the asphalted roads which fall beyond the control of the contracting companies, will the PART oblige those companies to carry out repair work despite not being responsible for those damages?” Ashkanani replied by saying, “It is assumed that those tasked with finding the locations of asphalt damage are instructed to identify defects in the quality of asphalt, and not to hold these companies responsible for damages resulting from what can be considered outside the control of these companies, such as the accidents that affected the surface asphalt layer.”