WORK carried out by the firm behind a botched leisure centre hit with £19 million of repairs has been branded “criminal”, as critics raised concerns it continues to rake in millions of pounds from the taxpayer.
Kier Construction was slammed over a catalogue of failings at its DG One facility in Dumfries, where the bill to correct its poor workmanship has now come to more than the flagship building cost to construct.
But the company has continued to land high-profile public contracts – including a £34.5m deal to build new facilities at Clydebank’s Golden Jubilee National Hospital at the end of last year, which will be completed by 2021.
In October 2014 – the same month in which DG One was forced to shut for repairs – Kier was chosen to build two new secondary schools in South Ayrshire.
It is also behind big-name projects such as the refurbishment of Glasgow School of Art following the devastating fire that ripped through the building in 2014.
Scottish Labour MSP Colin Smyth branded Kier's handling of the DG One project “criminal” and called for a “fundamental review” into public sector construction projects.
Speaking at First Minister’s Questions, he said: "This week Professor John Cole published his independent inquiry into the flawed construction of the DG One leisure complex in Dumfries.
"Whilst there are lessons for the council, he concluded that full responsibility for the defective construction lay with the contractor – Kier Construction.
"From breaches in the law when it came to building warrants to a fire escape strategy that completely comprised safety, their actions in my view were criminal.
"Does the First Minister therefore believe that it is still acceptable that Kier Construction continue to rake in millions of pounds from the taxpayer, building schools and hospitals for the Scottish Government?
"And given that Professor Cole concludes there are striking similarities in the safety related failings by a major contractor exposed in this inquiry and the one he carried out into the construction of Edinburgh schools, surely the time has come for a fundamental review into the way we plan, procure, design and manage public sector construction projects to stop cowboy construction firms ripping off the public and frankly putting lives at risk?"
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the Scottish Government was required to “openly procure such projects”.
She added: “Of course, some of the issues that are raised are for the particular local councils, not directly for the Scottish Government.
“However, we will pay extremely close attention to the findings and recommendations of the report that the member cites. If that requires us to take any further action, that is exactly what we will do.”
Kier is one of five principal supply chain partners on Frameworks Scotland 2, a publicly-funded “procurement initiative” expected to deliver £600m worth of construction, renovation and maintenance projects to acute NHS facilities in Scotland.
Mr Cole, who also spearheaded the probe into building failures at Edinburgh's schools, previously found Kier Northern – now Kier Construction Scotland and North East – was "unquestionably" responsible for the shoddy work identified in DG One.
The leisure centre opened in May 2008 at a cost of £17m, but was forced to close just six years later after a catalogue of construction defects were discovered.
Kier did not respond to a request for comment.
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