Gwen checks CICC, but this time up close

Governor Gwendolyn Garcia inspected the progress of the Cebu International Convention Center last Friday night to make sure everything was on track before she leaves for an official business trip in Hong Kong tonight.

But unlike in previous visits where the governor merely looked at the building from a distance, she really took time to go inside the structure and inspect closely the engineering works that were already completed as of past 9 p.m. last Friday.

The governor appeared satisfied with how the implementation of the project was being been carried.

She said Cebu archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal was right in saying that her presence in the project site would really spur the implementation of the project.

CICC Project Architect Manuel Guanzon said he understands why a number of passersby have doubts whether the CICC building will be completed in time for the 12th Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit this December because all they see from afar are structural steels and some trusses for the roofing.

He said once you go inside the premises of CICC and inspect the engineering works already in place, you would realize at how fast the project has been implemented.

He added that people did not even see that they have implemented the site development simultaneously with the construction of the CICC building.

And to allay fears that the structural integrity of the building might be sacrificed in lieu of the need to fast track the completion of the structure, the governor has delegated Guanzon, the CICC-Project Monitoring Office new head, provincial engineer Eulogio Pelayre, and provincial planning and development office coordinator Adolfo Quiroga to supervise the implementation of the project day and night.

Further, Guanzon said 76 percent of the project has already been completed with a three-percent positive slippage, which means that they are at least two weeks ahead of the work schedule.

In a matter of two weeks, Guanzon said CICC will already be "water tide" or that the roofing of the building will already be finished, after which interior works and the installation of glass walls will follow.

Once they will start with the interior works, Guanzon said everything else will follow close to completion.

The CICC is targeted to be completed by November 15. - Cristina C. Birondo/BRP