City suspends P20 million Session Road sidewalk project

April 27, 2022 Metro BLISTT

The City Engineering Office (CEO) has suspended the issuance of the notice to proceed to the contractor of the P20 million Session Road sidewalk improvement project to await the outcome of the scheduled consultations by the local legislative body on the said matter.
City Engineer Edgar Victorio Olpindo disclosed that the aforesaid project had already been bidded out by the city’s Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) on March 22 or a few days before the start of the election ban on the implementation of projects and that the contractor was simply awaiting the issuance of the notice to proceed for the said project.
However, he claimed that the BAC decided to suspend the issuance of the said notice to the contractor on April 6 to pave the way for the requested conduct of consultations to address the issues and concerns raised by the people when the earlier project design was posted on social media.
Olpindo assured that whatever will be the output of the consultation will be considered by the CEO for possible design revisions in the sidewalk improvement project that will be implemented on the right side of Session Road going up but will still be based on the amount that was the result of the bidding of the project.
He added that the said project is just the initial phase of the Session Road sidewalk improvement project as the local government will work out the allocation of another P40 million for improving the left side of the road going up to achieve the desired pedestrianization of the city’s main thoroughfare.
Earlier, the local legislative body scheduled the public consultation for April 29. The local government was supposed to issue the notice to proceed to the winning contractor, Napyeak Construction if the said issuance was not suspended by the BAC to give way for consultations requested by the public.
Dexter A. See/PIO