Following the failure of Baguio City’s previous contractors to accomplish infrastructure worth P80 million in Wright Park, the local government has slated the project up for rebidding.
According to City Environment and Parks Management Office (CEPMO) Chief Rhenan Diwas, the infrastructure is intended to overhaul the site and provide 40 stables for horses, quarters for the pony boys, a community hall for Lualhati barangay, and more than 100 commercial stalls for vendors in the area.
With the city still working on the full overhaul project that has stalled out and requires re-bidding, the local government has provided temporary stables for the Wright Park horse population.
According to Diwas, the restarted bidding process can take up to three months, upon which a notice to proceed will be issued to begin construction which, according to the project description, will take up to 257 days for one structure and 210 for the other.
The re-bidding of the project was prompted by an unfavorable review of the project progress from the previous contractors, KHATIB Construction.
The review was prompted by a July 17, 2023 Department of Public Works and Highways – Baguio City District Engineering Office (DPWH-BCDEO) report on the alleged substandard construction of the multimillion multipurpose building at Wright Park.
Said report noted “serious defects” in the projects being implemented at Wright Park, as well as the failure of the contractor to present necessary project documents such as the project log book, materials log book, concrete pouring plan, concrete pouring permits, and materials test results, among others.
The Baguio city council directed the legal department to comment on the possibility of terminating the memorandum of agreement with KHATIB Construction for the implementation of said projects.
The council also set a hard deadline on KHATIB to finish the projects within the year 2023, which it failed to accomplish.
