The central and Tottori prefectural governments on Friday ordered 14 contractors to suspend business due to their involvement in illegal subcontracting in a public works project.
The scam emerged after the prefectural government granted the road-related project in fiscal 1999 to eight contractors in Tottori that lacked the capability to perform it, who then subcontracted a core part of the project to other general construction contractors.
Subcontracting entire public works projects is forbidden by a law regulating the construction industry. But it is said to have been a common practice for construction firms to seize on a loophole in the law and subcontract main parts of such projects.