THE Cebu City Council will summon representatives of Chinese contractor Hunan Road and Bridge Construction Group Ltd. to provide them an update on the ongoing construction of the package 1 of the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (CBRT) project worth P16.3 billion.

Cebu City South District Councilor Rey Gealon proposed a resolution during the City Council’s regular session Wednesday, June 7, in response to rumors that the contractor would stop work on the 2.38-kilometer package 1 on Osmeña Boulevard if they are not given the mobilization funds from the National Government.

"News discloses that the private contractor Hunan Road and Bridge Construction Group Ltd. of the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (CBRT) Package 1 has threatened to stop its construction works if the Department of Transportation (DOTr) cannot release the agreed initial 10 percent of the total contract as mobilization fund," according to Gealon’s resolution.

The first-term council member said that stopping construction work will disrupt drivers and passengers and put off the project's completion, which is scheduled for December 2023.

During the session, it has not been determined on which day of the session the officials of Hunan Road and Bridge Construction Group Ltd. will be summoned, but Gealon revealed that the secretariat will check the exact date and notify the contractor as soon as possible.

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has been given until June 15 to pay the agreed amount, according to City Councilor Jerry Guardo, who is the chairman of the Committee on Infrastructure.

The contractor for Package 1—worth more than P900 million—has started working even though the mobilization fund has not yet been distributed so they can catch up with the deadline for finishing the specified tasks.

According to CBRT project manager Engr. Norvin Imbong revealed that they are about to sign the check that will be given to the contractor. (PAC, TPT)