Hospital project moves ahead as Cebu City approves P325.5M supplemental budget

The bidding for the new Cebu City Medical Center was assured yesterday when the Cebu City Council approved the P325.5 million first Supplemental Budget (SB1) submitted by Mayor Michael Rama.

Most of the amount or P300 million is for the first phase of the new hospital.

With this,  bidding for the  project will  be held in April.

“We are targeting the start of actual construction by June and hopefully before the year ends, the Bureau of Fire Protection can move in,”said Jose Daluz III, who heads the bids and awards committee (BAC).

The first phase of the CCMC construction will start with the building for the Bureau of Fire Protection and the CCMC’s college of nursing.

Of the 17 councilors, 11 attended yesterday’s special session.

Councilor Maryann delos Santos as  CCMC ad hoc committee head  was asked to “regularly update the council on the CCMC construction.”

The ordinance approving  SB1 was authored by Wenceslao, vice chairman of the budget and finance committee. The chairperson, Margot Osmeña is still out of the country.

Right after the approval, delos Santos approached members of the Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan and thanked them for “helping CCMC.

The P300 million will come from the  realignment of current outlays  for 2014 from the budget of the Department of Engineering and Public Works (DEPW) – P280 million from repair and construction of drainage systems and P20 million from lot acquisition for river improvement.

Other items in the budget are burial assistance program (P2 million), miscellaneous services for barangay fire auxiliary forces (P6.5 million), appropriations for the Office of the City Administrator (P16 million) and P1 million for the purchase of a vehicle.”