Board piling contractor to back out if city won't increase contract price
A contractor for the board piling works for the new City Hall project has threatened to back out if the city government will not increase the contract price from P59 million to P74 million.
Atty. Edgar Gil, chief of the City Legal Office (CLO) yesterday confirmed that Iloilo-based International Builders Corporation (IBC) wrote a letter to the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) about their plan to back off from the contract if their request is not heeded. However, the BAC refused to furnish the media a copy of the letter.
Gil said the contractor reasoned out that they would lose if they are going to push through with the contracted price which is only P59 million. The contractor is projecting an increase of P15 million from the agreed contract. The contractor based their additional computation in contracted price on the current rounds of increase in the prices of construction materials.
The BAC, which Gil also heads, will still deliberate on the contractor's letter. However, sources said IBC will continue the project if the city government will also increase the contracted price for the board piling work.
Earlier, Mayor Jerry Treñas decided to reduce the number of floors of the proposed new City Hall from eight stories to seven stories save on cost. The decision was reached after the Pacific Orient Consultants and Management Co, Inc. informed the city government in the increase of the construction cost from P378,987,675 to P463,883,922 due to the current economic situation.