Move To Screen Contractors

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30811, 24 July 1965, Page 26

Move To Screen Contractors

A remit on prequaliflcation for contractors would most likely be adopted at the annual conference of the N.Z. Associated General Contractors’ Federation, to apply to at least a limited field, said the secretary of the local branch (Mr J. J. B. Connor) yesterday.

The federation, he said, hadi had talk! on this subject with i Ministry of Works officials over several years. This would mean that in some specific aspect of contracting in New Zealand ten-1 ders would be let only to | contractors who had proved' capacity, finance and plant j for the job in mind. 280 At Conference The annual conference of; the federation will be held in the Christchurch Wool Exchange building from August 18 to 20. It Will be attended by more than 280 contractors from Southland to North Auckland. Those at the conference will include those engaged in agriculture, bridge building, concrete spraying, earth-mov-ing. heavy haulage, curbed channelling, land drainage, metal production, pipe-lining, sewerage, soil removal, sports ground maintenance and structural engineering works The Minister of Works (Mr Allen) will officially open the conference on August 18; and the Mayor of Christ-!

(Mr G. Manning) will. : welcome guests. ! Mr Connor said that pre1 qualification was likely to aploly only to a limited field, in the first instance, but later. Ilf it was found to work tatI Isfactorily, it could be develnned to cover other aspects j of the general contracting ; field. In general terms, said Mr ■ Connor, there would be a trend towards urging the Government to construct by I giving work contracts rather ; than by plant hire. “As far as we are concerned it would be good if the Ministry of Works confined itself to designing and supervision and let out contracts, and for the same to apply to local bodies,” said Mr Connor. Protective Tariffs Other subjects to be discussed by conference will include protective tariffs, precoating chip, knd some technical matters. All the biggest contractors in Auckland and other main I centres would be attending

the conference in Christchurch as well as contractors who operated only one or two machines, Mr Connor said.