Construction on Cebu City Medical Center to resume

AFTER years of stops and starts, the Cebu City Government is getting back to work on the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC).

Construction on the unfinished hospital is set to resume on February 12, 2026. This move marks a major step forward for a project that was first launched over ten years ago.

New timeline

Mayor Nestor Archival confirmed that the work is finally moving forward as he issued a notice to proceed to Dakay Construction and Development Corp., the winning bidder for Phase 5 of the project.

This phase focuses on the interior and finishing works for the third to seventh floors of the 10-story building.

“The project must be completed by November,” he said.

Archival said the City will not yet pursue the construction of the eighth to 10th floors because of the high cost.

The City will shoulder construction costs for the current phase, which amounts to about P700 million.

However, equipping the new rooms requires partnership. Archival said the City will seek help from the Department of Health (DOH) to buy medical equipment for the completed floors.

More room for patients

Once finished and equipped, the additional floors are expected to boost the hospital’s capacity and improve healthcare services for Cebu City residents.

The impact on patient care will be significant. Archival said that by January next year, the hospital can start accommodating at least 400 more patients. Currently, the CCMC can accommodate more than 100 patients.

A history of delays

The journey to complete the CCMC has been difficult. The project started in 2015 to replace the old building damaged by the 2013 earthquake.

Construction, however, faced repeated delays because of contract issues, missing engineering documents, and concerns raised during structural and technical reviews.

Although the hospital partially opened in 2020, issues persisted. In November 2022, the City terminated a major construction contract after the contractor failed to meet deadlines.

Later assessments revealed a lack of complete as-built plans — critical documents to verify completed work and guide next phases — prompting another stoppage in construction. Records from the Department of Engineering and Public Works show more than P1.1 billion has been spent on the project so far.

With work resuming this month, the City hopes to finally turn a corner and deliver the healthcare facility residents have been waiting for. / CAV