The construction of the new Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) is still a little bit ahead of schedule, according to City Engr. Jose Marie Poblete.
During yesterday’s first concrete-pouring ceremony at the construction site, Poblete said the hospital project is currently 10.74 percent complete as of October 24.
He said this is 3.58 percent ahead of their expectation that the project would already be around 7.16 percent complete by this time.
Cebu City mayor Michael Rama and Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella inspect the progress of the construction work of the new Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) before they proceed to the first concrete pouring ceremony yesterday. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)
“The concrete pouring signals that we can start with the vertical construction of the building after we are finished with the concrete pile driving,” Poblete told reporters yesterday.
He said they are now around 80 percent complete with the placing of concrete piles under the soil for the foundation of the 10-story hospital. He said the pile driving will be completed in the coming weeks.
Mayor Michael Rama led yesterday’s ceremonial cement concrete-pouring together with Poblete, Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella and officials from the C.E. Padillao, the contractor for the P600 million first phase project of the new CCMC.
Yesterday’s event was scheduled at 11 a.m. By then, several councilors, mostly from the Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK), were already at the construction site.
At around 12 noon, when the master of ceremony announced that the guests are to have their lunch first since Mayor Rama will be late, the BO-PK councilors, led by Margot Osmeña, left the area, saying that they have another lunch meeting and have a caucus for today’s council session.
Aside from Osmeña, BO-PK-allied Councilors Sisinio Andales, Mary Ann De Los Santos, Roberto Cabarrubias, Lea Japson, Alvin Arcilla, Nestor Archival Sr. and Nida Cabrera, who were also present, also left.
Councilor Gerardo Carillo was also there.
It was almost 1 p.m. already when Mayor Rama arrived.
Construction of the first phase of the hospital project started last July and is expected to run for 21 months, which means it’s expected to be finished by April 2017.
Poblete said the first phase will already include the basic structure of the entire building, like floors and walls. It won’t include yet the finishing touches and the compartments.
“The new CCMC is structurally engineered to withstand a magnitude 9 earthquake and would not leave any serious damage to the building. This was inspired after the old CCMC was severely damaged by a 7.2 quake in 2013,” he said.
The whole construction project is pegged to cost P1.2 to P1.5 billion.
Meanwhile, Rama told officials of C.E. Padilla to fasttrack the construction of the hospital since election period is at its peak.
The appeal was made during the mayor’s press conference after the ceremony.
Rama said he wants phase one to be finished on February 24, Cebu City’s Charter Day.
However, C.E Padilla Construction Incorporated President Cantalino Padilla said that the mayor’s request is quite impossible to achieve since their target date of completion is April 2017.
He said though that “realistically” they can already finish the second floor of the hospital by February.