CONSTRUCTION OF THE NEW DOCK

Otago Witness, Issue 2924, 30 March 1910, Page 9

CONSTRUCTION OF THE NEW DOCK

DISPUTE WITH CONTRACTORS. CLAIM FOR £36,163 9s SETTLED FOR £12,500. The long-pending dispute between the Otago Dock Trust and the dock contractors ' —Messrs Scott. Brothers —was advanced an important stage on March 24, when the trust resumed its sitting in committee to consider a definite and final offer from file contractors to accept a sum of £12,500 in full and complete settlement of their claim for £36,163 9s. The offer, it is understood,, is the outcome o' the conference between Mr J. L. Scott and the trust, which took place at the last meeting of the trust on the 22nd inst., and the trust on Thursday night unanimously decided to.accept it. The contract price for the.construction of the dock, it will be remembered, was £58,719 6s, against which the contractors have received up to date the sum of £46,779, leaving a balance due of £11,940 6s, so that, the trust, in making a settlement by the payment of £12,500, is paying the contractors the contract price, plus £559 14s for value received in extras. If, on the other hand, a settlement had. not been come to. Messrs Soott Bros, would have .'claimed against the trust for an amount totalling, as before, stated,, £36,163 ,9s, included in which was.an- item of £10,300, which.they claimed they were entitled to owing to the

alleged inability of dredge 222 to do certain dredging work specified in the contract. The Dock Trust, on its part, claimed against the contractors for a sum of £8613 for penalties for non-completion of the work within contract time, and in the settlement arrived at the trust has waived this. - At Thursday nigKt's meeting of the trust there was a, consensus o? opinion that the settlement arrived at is due principally to the efforts of the trust's special committee,, which had the matter in hand, and a minute was recorded, on the motion of Mr E. Godfred, seconded by Mr Sutten, that this committee, consisting" of Messrs A. Cable (chairman), W. Barclay, G. B. Bullock, and G. L. Dennision, be ' specially thanked for. the satisfactory solution of a very difficult and much-involved matter.