Small contractors grumble over gov't delayed payments

AMMAN – Small- and medium-sized contractors accuse the government of harming the sector because of months of delays in paying outstanding dues estimated at JD13 million. 

However, a government official and the top representative of Jordan's construction sector told The Jordan Times that the government is going to pay its financial obligations to the contractors "very soon". 

Ziad Sakran, board member of the Jordan Construction Contractors Association (JCCA) and representative of the small- and medium-sized construction firms, complained that the Ministry of Public Works and Housing has been promising them to pay the dues for months, noting that contractors have been unable to pay their obligations to banks and the salaries of their employees. 

He noted that the dues are for agricultural road projects across the Kingdom.

According to Sakran, the government paid the contractors only JD1 million out of JD14 million in mid-July.  

"The government has hurt the business of a large number of companies in the sector because of unfulfilled pledges," Sakran said, adding that Public Works and Housing Minister Sami Halaseh told contractors at an Iftar banquet in Ramadan, nearly two months ago, that they would be paid immediately after Eid Al Fitr, which fell on July 28. 

Halaseh could not be reached to comment on the issue, but the ministry's Secretary General Anmar Khasawneh said the contractors would be paid "very soon" as the Cabinet has allocated JD20 million to solve the issue. 

Khasawneh refused to  specify a date for paying the dues. 

But JCCA President Ahmad Tarawneh said the ministry may start paying its financial obligations either Wednesday or Thursday, adding that he held meetings with government officials to discuss the issue of small- and medium-sized contractors. 

"The problem is over and JD20 million were allocated for paying them and other contractors," Tarawneh said, adding that officials have blamed technical and intra-government measures for the delay in paying the outstanding debts.