Oval contractor: Other activities caused delays

CEBU, Philippines — The contractor of the Cebu City Sports Center (CCSC) renovations yesterday said delays in the installation of the rubberized track oval are due to the series of activities being done inside the center and not because it is remiss in fulfilling its obligations.

SBD Builders appeared before the Cebu City Council in an executive session yesterday to shed light on why the rubberized truck is still unfinished.

In an interview with the media right after the session, Shaun Doherty, a representative of SBD builders, said that the installation of rubber is the last procedure to be done.

“For the time being, muadto mo didtos Abellana, daghan kaayo sa tanan og activities didto, dili nato pwede i butang ang rubber kay ma compromise ang iyahang quality, so gipaabot namo nga mahuman sila tanan didto sa ilang trabaho,” he told reporters.

Doherty said they had already issued a notice to the laborers inside the CCSC that would begin installing the rubber, an enough time to finish the project.

He said it has been a while already that they have the rubber but they could not install it due to the activities at the oval.

“Gabangag sila para sa LED wall. Di man na nimo pwede maputol ang installation, so unahon sa to nila, humanon sa to nila, para maka-install na mi,” said Doherty.

During the interview, he also showed a picture to the media of the current situation of CCSC where an excavation has reportedly reached the track oval.

“Unsaon man namo pag-lay (ang rubber) nga naa may mga yuta naa tunga sa oval track, dili gyud mi ka install sa rubber,” said Doherty.

He said the track oval must be cleaned first, which is ongoing, before they could to the installation.

He also said that they were able to meet with Acting Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia last Tuesday to likewise give the same report.

Doherty also assured that aside from the excavation, they do not have any challenges now to the installation.

During the executive session, Doherty assured the council that the CCSC track oval rehabilitation would be done in the second week of June, 2024.

“Overall na ni sya. Humana ang tanan,” he said.

The laying of the rubber will take up to three weeks while the curing will last up to seven days.

Doherty said that as of this writing the overall rehabilitation is at 70 percent since rubberizing the oval only takes up to 30 percent of the work.

It was last Monday when Garcia inspected the CCSC track oval, following reports of its delay on its construction.

Garcia also said during that occasion that despite the delays in the rubberized track oval’s completion the contractor would still be able to meet the deadline for the Palarong Pambansa, which the city is hosting on July 6 to 17.

“Ang pinaka importante which is the oval, hopefully masugdan na na within today or tomorrow. That will take hopefully less than 30 days to finish,” he said.

“Ako, I am still very optimistic nga mahuman ra gyud ni ug kinahanglan gyud mahuman,” he added. —/RHM (FREEMAN)