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THE Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) on
Thursday called on the Japanese contractors involved in
the construction of the P21-billion Subic-Clark-Tarlac
Expressway (SCTEx) to speed up work in order to meet
their deadlines for the completion of the project.
The BCDA specifically urged the contractors to bring in
modern equipment and deploy additional resources as
stipulated in their contract. The BCDA directed the
contractors to improve their performance to make up for
lost time. The agency warned that the contracts could be
rescinded if they incur a negative slippage of 15
percent or more.
SCTEx spokesman Robert Gervacio, program manager for
operational support services, said that as of February
7, the contractors have had a combined negative slippage
of 8.31 percent for both Package 1 (Subic
to Clark) and Package 2 (Clark to Tarlac) of the SCTEx.
Earlier, retired general Narciso Abaya, BCDA president and
chief executive officer, assured the public that the
SCTEx would be completed by year-end, although work on
the 93.7-kilometer project was somewhat delayed. “There
is still time to catch up with project construction
work,” Abaya added.
“We want the people to enjoy travel in comfort and safety
provided on the SCTEx, that is expected to speed up the
economic development of
Central
Luzon, provide the strategic linkage between the
region’s two free ports and realize our vision of
hosting the number one logistics hub in
Asia,” Abaya said, referring to both
Subic
and Clark free ports.
The KOJM (Kajima-Obayashi-JFE Engineering-Mitsubishi Heavy
Industries Co. Ltd.) consortium is working on Package 1,
while the Hazama-Taisei-Nippon Steel (HTN) joint venture
is building Package 2 of the SCTEx.
In a letter sent to Kajima president Misuyo Nakamura in
February last year, Abaya said lack of equipment and
other resources is hampering the implementation of the
project.
Similar letters were also sent to Hazama president Junichi
Shimmyo, telling the contractor to strictly adhere to
the provisions of its contract and implement catch-up
plans so that work on the SCTEx could be finished
according to target dates.
In spite of these repeated admonitions, the Japanese
contractors reportedly failed to upgrade their heavy
equipment, representing noncompliance to a contract
provision mandating that 50 percent of the equipment to
be used should be Japan-made and brand new. BCDA field
engineers reported that most of the machines, owned by
local subcontractors, were antiquated and inefficient,
and often broke down.
The BCDA officials shrugged off allegations that right-of-way
issues are delaying work on the SCTEx, saying it’s a
minor problem that cannot derail the project.
Major problems cited by BCDA engineers that have caused the
slippage were delayed start and slow progress of major
civil works such as bridge installation, drainage and
underpass structures; inability to mobilize required
resources and equipment; lack of coordination among and
poor supervision of subcontractors.
J. Cunanan |
