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October 06, 2007
Oops, No Indonesia Building Permit for Groundbreaking?
From: --------------
Sent: Friday, May 25, 2007 10:14 AM
To: -------------------------
Cc:---------------------------
Subject: RE: Surabaya NCC - Building Permit
Hi ----------,
See below for answers.
Please let me know if you need anything else. I didn't cancel the groundbreaking ceremony on a whim. It would be irresponsible of us to invite the mayor and staff to a groundbreaking for a building that has no permit. As you can see from the below responses it was reasonable to expect that the permit would already be in place now, which would have made the groundbreaking possible.
Thanks,
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---------
---------------
Surabaya NCC
ph. (number deleted)
_____________________________________________
From: ------------------
Sent: Friday, May 25, 2007 2:50 AM
To: -----------------
Cc: ----------------------
Subject: Surabaya NCC - Building Permit
Hi ------,
Since the building permit has emerged on the project critical path, can you please shed some light on its status and the below questions:
1 - When did GWI file for the permits?
GWI has not yet filed for the permit. They are required to have an environmental survey performed here before they can submit the permit application, and apparently their home office and 1st Kuwaiti are quibbling about who to use for the environmental survey. The PM here is hopeful that he'll have an OK to hire an A/E to start the environmental survey soon. It will probably take 1 month for that survey, after which they will start the permit process. I have suggested that they look into trying to get permission to start the permit process before the environmental survey is complete, but it sounds like the local bureaucracy here won't allow it. The consulate is already helping on this. The main problem here is that GWI has done absolutely nothing for the first 3 months of their contract (aside from the design). They have just now started the process of registering in Indonesia (remember my email in March and our very pointed direction at the pre-con in April that they are required to register here prior to the start of work?) and are hopeful that it will only take 3 weeks to complete that process.
2 - How long does it exactly take to get the permits?
It is clearly shown in the pre-bid documents and the contract that the lead time to obtain a permit is 2-3 months. The consulate here has worked over the last year to shorten this period, and have verbal assurances that once the environmental survey is complete GWI can get the permit in 2 weeks or so. This means that if GWI had gotten someone here in February and started the environmental survey (which does NOT require drawings) they could have submitted the permit application in early April, as soon as the 35% drawings were complete, and had the permit in hand already.
3 - Is the permit time a result of incomplete submission of the required documents by the contractor or is it a normal delay in the local bureaucracy?
The permit delay is a normal delay here, and was communicated to GWI previously, per above.
4 - Can the embassy help expedite the process by contacting the key local officials to short cut the bureaucracy?
The consulate and embassy are assisting as much as possible. The problem is GWI. They should have had someone here in country immediately after NTP who could start the process. They are claiming that they had to wait for the 35% drawings to file for the permit, but they could have started the environmental survey in February. Bottom line is the embassy cannot help them unless they get off their butts and get the process started.
5 - What is the contractor next course of action to get the permits and get it soon?
The contractor's next course of action, as stated above, is to have the environmental survey completed by a local firm. They are still trying to get quotes and decide who to go with.
6 - What is your next strategy with the contractor and with the embassy to urge them to expedite obtaining the permits?
As for the next strategy, I was going to email Zaldy [Zaldy Salbino - contracting technician for this particular contract] this morning and ask him to issue another cure notice to GWI. I have been almost rude in my emails and conversations with GWI telling them they're way too slow. Maybe someone back there in DC should be calling Mr. Grunley and Mr. Walsh, because no one seems to be taking this seriously.
7 - Can we do anything from here to help with the process?
See #6. I will email Zaldy and info you regarding the proposed cure notice.
! am copying ---and ----- as they were questioned by Joe earlier today on the permit issue. Your earliest update on the above would be appreciated.
Thanks.
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Posted by davidphinney at October 6, 2007 09:37 PM
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