Kazakhstan has scrapped regulations that allowed road works to be accepted despite unresolved defects. Instead of repairing them, a contractor could have the cost of the work reduced, part of the payment withheld, or the warranty period extended, the website infohub.kz reports.
According to the Main Transport Prosecutor's Office, the violations were uncovered during a review of the documents governing the construction, quality control and acceptance of roads. Prosecutors took issue with the methodology used by the National Center for Quality of Road Assets.
"When individual defects were identified, acceptance of the work was permitted without restoring the standard characteristics of the road surface. Instead of eliminating the shortcomings, the rules provided for withholding funds, reducing the cost of the work performed, or extending the warranty period," the prosecutor's office said.
It noted that the financial sanctions effectively allowed contractors not to fix the defects identified and did not ensure that roads met technical requirements.
The methodology also made it possible to revise design decisions after non-compliance had already been detected. The prosecutor's office stressed that approved design documentation may be changed only in the manner established by law.
Following a protest by the Main Transport Prosecutor's Office, the provisions allowing road works to be accepted with unresolved defects were removed from an order issued by the Ministry of Transport.