JUST because the contractor responsible for completing the new Nicosia General Hospital is asking for a five-year extension, it does not mean he will get it, a senior control officer at the Ministry of Communication and Works said yesterday.
The hospital, situated in Latsia just off the Nicosia-Limassol highway, was initially slated for completion five months ago. The contractor is now demanding an August 2007 deadline, but the government has only granted him an extra year and a half.
“It’s true that there will be a delay in completing the new hospital,” confirmed Alecos Michaelides. “But what the contractor wants, and what will finally be approved, is not necessarily the same thing.”
Although there had been changes made to the original hospital plans, such as the addition of a paraplegic centre, which inevitably led to delays in the project, a 2007 deadline was deemed unacceptable by the government, he said.
“We made changes to the plans adding parts to both the infrastructure’s interior and exterior, which gave the contractor the excuse to ask for an extension,” said Michaelides. However, the hospital’s architect and other relevant organisations responsible for the project informed the government that an extension should only be given until December 2003.
“As the contractor’s employer, we have the legal right to demand that it is ready by the timeframe we have set. Delays over and above that will have to be compensated by him, because there will be expenses involved that we are not willing to cover, such as the manpower we have on hand to oversee the smooth running of the building on site,” he said.
But even Michaelides admitted that completing the project by Christmas next year might be difficult.
“So far, they haven’t even started building,” he said. “The new road leading to the site has not been finished yet either, although there is access to it via the old road.”
In other words the contractor – whom Michaelides was unwilling to name – has an arduous task ahead of him over the next 17 months if he does not want to suffer the consequences.
“I’m not saying that the contractor will necessarily be able to finish it by then, but I do think that we will see rapid progress over the next few months. Once he realises that he has until 2003 to deliver the new hospital or else he will have to give us money, I’m sure things will improve,” he said.
“If you hit someone where it hurts – in this case financially – they tend to get things moving.”
The reason for the strict 2003 deadline was because the contractor was to blame for being overly slow in getting the wheels in motion.
“He can take action if he wants and it could even go to court,” said Michaelides. “But we have been told that extending the timeframe any more is unacceptable and that beyond the end of next year he should start compensating us for his delay.”
The new hospital, which is expected to surpass all the island’s other hospitals in terms of state-of-the-art technology and modernisation, had initially been estimated to cost the state £37.5 million. Due to the changes made to the plans over time, however, the new budget is estimated at around £52 million.
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