The president of Council of TenerifePedro Martín, affirmed yesterday that from the Insular Corporation they are “dissatisfied” with the delay in the construction works of the new pedestrian walkway for the Padre Anchieta roundabout, In the lagoon. And, for this reason, they have warned the UTE awarded the works that, if it does not solve the problems, a file will be opened to terminate the contract and even to disqualify it from being able to submit to public tenders.
“If a company does not comply, action must be taken. We have already done it in the past with the Polígono de La Campana. The work was awarded more than a year ago. The footbridge should already be being assembled and the materials have not yet arrived on the Island. With the problems we have on the roads of Tenerife, we can’t keep waiting. For this reason, we are considering rescinding the contract unless the company has news to offer us in the next few days that would make us change our minds”, added the island president in statements to DIARIO DE AVISOS.
The insular president had advanced yesterday morning that the company had been called “to chapter”, detailing that, even acknowledging that the prices of materials “have risen” and they have not refused to “modify” the rates, ” not possible” the current pace. These statements were made in an interview on Cadena Ser and collected by Europa Press.
Martín insisted that they will reach “the final consequences” if there is no progress and stated that he does not understand that after a year they are still waiting for the metal structure to arrive, which represents 80% of the project.
six more months
In this regard, the Councilor for Mobility of the Cabildo de Tenerife, Enrique Arriaga, added that the successful bidder “has requested an extension of the deadline for the completion of the works of six months, which is included in the law of contracts with the that this extension must be given, with a new work plan and a new programming of the works, but with the imposition of the corresponding penalties for the delay” of completion.
“From there -the island councilor continued explaining-, if the company does not meet this new six-month extension period, it would be necessary to start with other mechanisms marked in the contract law, which could even arrive, as the president said, to the rescission of the contract and the prohibition of contracting with the public administration”.
Even so, Enrique Arriaga trusted that it would not be necessary to go “to those extremes because it would not be good for anyone, because it would mean entering into a dispute to settle that contract that would lead us to get into a fairly complicated process, and we would have to bid the work again and in the end that delay would already be unsustainable for the people of Tenerife” and the problem of traffic jams on the Island.
This six-month delay stems from the construction of the footbridge, as steel supply problems seem to be occurring, and will mean that the works will be completed between June and July next year, the councilor added. Meanwhile, work continues on other phases of the project, such as in the plaza of the Faculty of Biology, on the sidewalk in the area of the Chemistry Tower and in the bus station, explained Arriaga.