Before the start of the school year, the MEC’s plan was to build classrooms and restructure 272 schools. However, due to the non-payment of the portfolio to one of the companies in charge of the works, more than 24 thousand children will suffer the consequences with the lack of completion in the constructions.
For the call for tenders called “Constructions, extensions, repairs and completions of 272 educational establishments within the framework of the projects financed by the FEEI”, carried out by the Ministry of Education and Sciences (MEC), there are a series of complications that was recorded until it made impossible the process of building new classrooms.
The award process was divided into 17 lots, for each department of the country and the items were related to the preparation of the work, the foundations, the structure and the construction of various infrastructures.
The award was made to 5 companies: Aponte Latorre Sociedad Anónima, Consorcio Constructor Norteño, Engineering SAECA, Structure Engineering SA (EISA) and GCA SA Integral Engineering Service. Among the companies mentioned, EISA was awarded with 79 schools; 65 classroom units were approved for construction and 65 schools were intervened.
However, in recent days some complaints had been made public stating that 50% of the works in the schools awarded to the aforementioned company had not been fulfilled, and it was noted that EISA was slowing down the construction of the necessary classrooms for the awarded schools, also adding the alleged termination of the contract by the MEC.
Being 79 schools with suspended construction, 24,500 boys will be affected by not having the relevant remodeling, facing the beginning of the school year.
Given this, Jorge Palumbo, director of EISA stressed that the company has done everything financially possible to complete the works, taking into account that in truth it was the educational portfolio that has not fulfilled its part of the contract, without paying the company.
George Palumbo
The director said that the contract was issued in December 2020 and at that time the MEC disbursed the advance, corresponding to G. 6,475,754,580, for which the works are built gradually, thus issuing certificates that later had to be charged.
Six were the certificates presented, equivalent to almost seven months of work, but the MEC did not comply with the payment of said works that were in process. Therefore, due to the breach of the contract and the payment to the company, EISA was the one who notified the suspension of the contract, given the impossibility of financing the works on its own account.
“EISA is the only company that has suspended its contract so far, we don’t know if the other firms are in the same situation, but in that regard, what differentiates our reality from other companies is that ours has a greater number of adjudications and, therefore, more responsibility”, argued Palumbo.
RESPONSIBILITY OF THE MEC
Palumbo asserted that the questions made to his company should actually be sent to the MEC, asking why the institution has not complied with the established contracts.
“We are builders and we only know how to build, but to achieve this we need the means and funds to complete our works. In 52 years of experience, this is the first time we have been through something similar,” he determined.
Palumbo indicated that everything is in charge of the MEC, since EISA is already available to resume construction and finally complete the works, since most of them are simply waiting for completion.
“We received feedback from the MEC and we are currently talking to carry out a work table, that we have an agreement and thus the institution fulfills its commitment, to deliver the works that correspond to us in 60 days” he concluded.
The El Independiente team tried to talk with the MEC’s bidding department, but due to evasiveness and lack of return to our calls, we could not receive answers. However, we will continue to monitor the relevant versions of the portfolio.
