CCMC construction to stop on 7th floor

Construction of the new Cebu City Medical Center will stop upon the completion of the seventh floor, a deviation from the original 10-story building design.

Cebu City Engineer Josefa Ylanan revealed the contractor will put a roof deck on the seventh floor so they can start doing the interior works.

The previous administration wanted to complete the construction of the 10-story building during the first phase but Mayor Tomas Osmeña wants the building to be usable as soon as possible.

"We will do our best to complete the interior of two or three floors so partially, we can make use of the building," Ylanan said.

Ylanan added the seven floors are almost complete but they still have to start with the interior work. She could not give a definite completion date of the project.

She added the contractor needs to make sure that the interior design complies with the standards set by the Department of Health (DOH).

"Interior means architecturally okay. Unlike in ordinary structure, we can choose the tiles and color that we want. But in hospitals, the interior design must pass DOH's standards," she explained.

The contractor, C. E. Padilla, will inform the city government the materials needed for the interior of the building.

Kenneth Siasar, CCMC administrator, said the city government cannot operate the hospital without DOH accreditation.

"When we say operation, we have to get an accreditation from DOH. We're going to buy equipment for the new hospital but not necessarily operating right away. We can't get an accreditation yet from DOH pending the purchase of equipment," he said.

During the budget hearing last Friday, Siasar said they are proposing a budget of P 23 million for drugs and medicines for next year's operation.

Last year, Cebu City government set aside P 300 million to fund the construction of CCMC.

In 2013, the old CCMC was declared unfit for occupancy after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit Cebu and Bohol.

Since then, the CCMC is occupying a portion of the Bureau of Fire Protection Regional Office on N. Bacalso Avenue.

Odessa O. Leyson/MBG