BCC OPERATIONAL NEXT YEAR
The projected completion date was moved up to the end of the year to allow all remaining works to be completed
BAGUIO CITY — Baguio City Administrator Benifacio de la Peña admitted that the Baguio Convention Center (BCC) will not be operational until next year since much work has yet to be done in the basement aside from the need for the contractor to complete the site development to ensure the completion of the multi-million rehabilitation project.
He said it will simply be used by the local government as a venue for its 110th Charter Day Anniversary program on 1 September this year.
“We appeal for utmost understanding from those wanting to use the facility for their gatherings because it will not yet be ready by September considering the remaining enormous work that will have to be done to complete the rehabilitation project,” De la Peña stressed.
During the previous months, Baguio City Councilor Mylene Yaranon learned from their inspections at the BCC that there are many changes in the original plan of the city-owned convention facility.
It was supposed to have been completed last February but because of the unnecessary delays in the implementation of the works, the projected completion date was moved up to the end of the year to allow all remaining works to be completed.
Earlier, the public works department, through Undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral, earmarked some P180 million from the annual budget of the agency last year purposely to implement the desired rehabilitation and upgrading of the city-owned BCC to increase its seating capacity aside from improving its aesthetics inside and outside the structure.
However, certain issues on how the project was implemented cropped up during the implementation stage that caused the unwarranted suspension of work a number of times until the completion of the project was eventually delayed up to the end of the year.
The facility was constructed 41 years ago by the Ministry of Human Settlements under the leadership of former First Lady and now Ilocos Norte 2nd District Rep. Imelda Marcos to serve as the venue for the world chess championship match between erstwhile world chess champion Anatoly Karpov and Victor Korchnoi.
The local government was able to purchase the land where the structure was built and the one-hectare parking area to accommodate the huge volume of vehicles during the conduct of gatherings among other activities.