New CCMC won’t open in March

CEBU, Philippines — The new Cebu City Medical Center will not be able to open next month, contrary to what was projected.

Councilor Mary Ann de los Santos, deputy mayor for health matters, told The FREEMAN that the first three floors of the hospital may be operational only in April because of the second phase of construction experienced a delay, as it had to undergo a public bidding.

"Best efforts for last week of April because wala nadayon ang contiguous (contract). Instead, it went through bidding," she said.

Construction of the new CCMC building has two phases – the first concentrated on structural framework while the second will focus on internal design.

As part of the second phase, installation of power lines and communication tools is expected to be completed within 150 calendar days.

The second phase will be undertaken by C.E Padilla Construction, Inc., which won the public bidding with contract price of P280 million.

De los Santos said she has sponsored a resolution, which will be submitted to the City Council, asking Mayor Tomas Osmeña to sign the notice of award to C.E Padilla.

Once the mayor signs the notice of award, the contractor will proceed with the second phase.

De los Santos said C.E Padilla will start working on the first three floors so they can be functional by April.

"Yes, they will go full blast. By Tuesday, there is already a resolution calendar authorizing the mayor to sign contract of award then notice to proceed will be signed na," she said.

The first floor of the new building will house the parking, septage treatment plant, laundry area, and maintenance.

The second floor will house the emergency room and departments, including pediatrics, internal medicine, surgery, isolation room, and organ imaging.

The third floor will house the out-patient department, dialysis department, as well as the hematology and oncology departments.

It remains unclear when construction of the whole building will be finished.

Meanwhile, De los Santos clarified that the budget available for construction is intended only for the first seven floors, not 10 floors, contrary to earlier reports.

"Structural is only seven floors now due to the available budget," De los Santos said.

The city government has set aside P794.97 million for the hospital. It spent P514.97 million for the first phase.

At present, CCMC is sharing a building with the Bureau of Fire Protection-7 along Natalio Bacalso Avenue.

The old CCMC building was demolished in 2014 after it was declared unsafe following the magnitude 7.2 earthquake that hit Central Visayas in 2013. (FREEMAN)