Kansas’ Black & Veatch, with history of problems in Afghanistan, now has another

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http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/01/19/180201/kansas-black-veatch-with-history.html



A half finished police watchtower looms over Sharhi Buzurg, Afghanistan on Oct. 23, 2010

Kansas’ Black & Veatch, with history of problems in Afghanistan, now has another
By Lindsay Wise | McClatchy Newspapers
Posted on Saturday, January 19, 2013

WASHINGTON — An American contractor that came under fire several years ago for cost overruns and delays during the construction of a major U.S.-funded power plant in Afghanistan faces renewed criticism on another, much smaller project.

Engineering firm Black & Veatch of Overland Park, Kan., had blamed a subcontractor, Symbion Power, for holdups a few years back in construction of the Tarakhil power plant near Kabul, a $300 million project plagued by so many problems that critics nicknamed it “The White Elephant of Kabul.”

Symbion denied it was responsible for delays. The subcontractor was cleared of fraud or deliberate misrepresentation last year through arbitration, which awarded Symbion $7.3 million plus interest in damages and fees from Black & Veatch.

Black & Veatch’s latest trouble in Afghanistan comes with a federal audit, published in December, that determined that the company failed to provide an installation plan for millions of dollars in electrical equipment that sat unused for months in a warehouse near the city of Kandahar.

[Angry Dragon]

1. Prison for B&V