Former Edinburgh Trams chief's comments about Bilfinger Berger being a "delinquent contractor" has not gone down well with the German firm.
In a public statement, Bilfinger Berger said yesterday it "vehemently denies" the remarks by the outgoing chairman of tram firm TIE.
"Bilfinger Berger is considering legal action against David Mackay, the now resigned head of the public transport authority in Edinburgh for damaging the company’s reputation. Yesterday, he publicly discredited the company and its employees," it stated.
On the issue of who is responsible for the massive delays and cost over-runs it says:
"As leader of a consortium with Siemens and Spanish company CAF, Bilfinger Berger was commissioned to build an 18-kilometer long tram line in Edinburgh. The client alone is responsible for delays in the project schedule which have occurred as a result of numerous design changes and a lack of preparatory work."
The trams contractor points out that legal disputes have thus far gone its way.
"The contract that was agreed between the public transport authority and the consortium prevents the Group from making any statement relating to content. Bilfinger Berger emphasizes, however, that the allegations are completely unfounded. This is also reflected in the numerous decisions already made at adjudication proceedings in which Bilfinger Berger’s claims have been confirmed."
The firm appears to round off its public statement by holding out an olive branch for the incoming trams chief.
'“Bilfinger Berger’s behaviour in the Edinburgh tram project has complied with the contract”, says Joachim Enenkel, Member of the Executive Board at Bilfinger Berger. “We have consistently presented the client with constructive proposals to solve his problems. To then be publicly insulted and slandered shows just how out of his depth the now departed client representative was with a project of this size. We see the change of management on the client side as an opportunity to finally move forward with this project in an orderly manner."'
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Bilfinger Berger Strikes Back!
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Edinburgh City trams
The present problems with the tram is actually a heaven sent opportunity to properly reassess exactly what the city needs.
Behind the present overwhelming problems of bad planning and over spend, lies the potenially even more serious pollution issue caused by careless treatment of traffic displaced by the Tram from the roads designed to carry it into unsuitable residential roads.
All of these can be linked back to basic fundamental errors and complacenies in the very first stages of this project.
The tram may be nowhere near arriving but the traffic created pollution already is already with us.
The recent feeble 'reworking' of the so-called 'Business Plan' presented to councillors is yet another depressing example of this patronising 'carry on regardless and hope for the best,' approach from the Council and Tie both apparently now paralysed by the scale of the problems.
They need to get a grip and undertake a proper, realistic, re-appraisal of the whole project ; the world changed in 2008 and as JM Keynes said 'When the facts change, I change my mind ...what do you do?"
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It was somewhat surprising to see David Mackay, who is such an experienced transport and commercial operator, express his frustration so publicly. As Councillor Steve Cardownie, the Council Deputy Leader has said, "Just when you think things could not get any worse, they have."
It is also interesting to note that Councillors are being very quick to distance themselves from David Mackey's remarks, saying that this is a matter between the contractor and David Mackay. All of them must now be terrified of finding that their public statements could possibly be picked up by the contractor for a wider legal action involving others in addition to David Mackay. Gordon Mackenzie, the Convenor of the Transport, Infrastructure and Environment Committee and also a Director of Tie, must be wondering if he is next in line as he has made several cutting remarks about the contractor over the past months.