CH faces P2.5B infra backlog

Money is not a problem with the Department of Engineering and Public Works (DEPW) of the Cebu City government as billions worth of projects with corresponding appropriation from even way back 2010 to the present are awaiting implementation.

DEPW chief Kenneth Carmelita Enriquez is saying they need additional manpower to implement the infrastructure projects. She is also looking forward for the return of the engineers under her department who are serving suspensions.

Entering the fourth quarter of the year, the P230.7 million worth of infrastructure projects funded by the 2013 annual budget and Annual Investment Plan (AIP) are virtually untouched and the DEPW is busy updating and working for previous years’ backlogs.

DEPW now has about P2.47 billion worth of projects on the pipeline. Of this P1.1 billion is either completed or ongoing implementation while another P629 million worth of projects are still waiting for the preparation of its Program of Works and Estimates (POWE), said Engr. Joel Reston, assistant city engineer.

Reston added that there are also P596.9 million worth of city funded projects still awaiting bidding while another P68.2 million worth of projects could not be implemented yet because of unresolved issueds especially on road right of way.

From 2010 to date, DEPW also accounted for P97.7 million worth of savings incurred from the difference in the city’s project allocation as compared to the actual cost of its implementation. Said savings, he said, may be realigned with the city council’s approval for use in other purposes.

DEPW, Reston said, is still implementing projects funded from the 2010 supplemental budget 5, the 2011 and 2012 annual budget and AIPs respectively.

He said that since projects funded from the 2013 budget and AIP came later, none of these have been implemented to date.

The 2013 appropriation consist of projects worth P150.8 million included in the AIP and funded from the City Development Fund and P79.9 million worth of projects funded from the annual budget.

All of the 2013 funded projects are still waiting POWE preparations.

“Wala pa gyud ta naka bidding ani nga mga projects. Mag huwat man gud ta nga mo abot ang budget. Anha pa siya ma (site) inspection in preparation for the POWE,” he said.

Resto said that the lack of manpower is contributing to the delays in the project implementation. DEPW’s planning division which is responsible for the POWE preparation only has one architect and three engineers working on all the city funded projects while they also help prepare the POWE for barangay projects.

DEPW, Reston said, may already start to implement some of the 2013 projects during the fourth quarter of the year.

“We will catch up. The bulk of projects we are implementing now are still 2010 and 2011 projects,” he said.