CICC contractor to build Capitol’s 20-storey building?

THE contractor that built the controversial Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) in 2006 emerged as the lowest calculated bidder during the bidding for the 20-storey Provincial Resource Center last Friday, Nov. 9.

Jone Sepe, vice chairman of the bids and awards committee (BAC), said WT Construction Inc.’s technical and legal documents were all in place.

WT Construction submitted a bid of P1.298 billion to build the resource center, or P40 million less than the project’s actual approved budget for the contract.

Starting this week, the contractor will undergo a post-disqualification process, which is expected to take 12 days.

Aside from verifying all the documents the contractor submitted, including making sure that its mayor’s permit is not fake and is still valid, and checking its tax clearance to make sure that it pays taxes diligently, the Capitol will visit all of WT Construction’s previous projects and check if it has enough equipment and manpower to ensure that it will be “exclusively committed” to the project, Sepe said.

Sepe clarified that it is not final that they will award the project to WT Construction since the BAC still has to wait for the results of the post-qualification process and the evaluation of the technical working group on WT Construction’s background, especially since the latter’s work on the CICC was questioned.

But if they don’t find anything wrong during the post-qualification process, he said, the BAC will recommend to Gov. Hilario Davide III awarding the contract to WT Construction. Then the Provincial Board will need to authorize the governor to sign a contract with the winning bidder.

WT Construction built the CICC in 2006 for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit in 2007.

The Capitol already sold the property to the Mandaue City Government after the Davide administration refused to fix the building, which was heavily damaged by earthquakes and typhoons.

Davide has repeatedly criticized third district Rep. Gwen Garcia for the CICC project, calling it overpriced and an “P840-million mistake.” The building was constructed during her term as governor.

SunStar Cebu tried to get Davide’s comment on the result of the bidding, but he could not be reached for comment as of press time.

Meanwhile, Sepe said there was another bidder last Friday, but it was disqualified.

He said the biggest project that Manila-based Finmat International Resources Inc. had undertaken cost P650 million, or less than half of the approved budget for the contract of the resource center.

“Finmat was non-compliant because its single largest contract is insufficient,” Sepe said in Cebuano.

However, Sepe said Finmat can file a request for reconsideration, which is allowed under Republic Act 9184, or the Government Procurement Reform Act.

The Provincial Resource Center will be a mixed-use commercial building inside the Capitol compound. It will house the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office and other provincial offices.

The Capitol took out a P1.5-billion loan from the Development Bank of the Philippines for the project. Aside from the principal amount, the Capitol will pay an annual interest of 2.9 percent, or around P100 million in total, based on the estimates of Provincial Budget Officer Danilo Rodas. (from AZLG of SuperBalita Cebu)

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