Last week I talked about conversations I had with the General Manager of the Clark Development Corporation, Mr. Mike de la Rosa. We talked about the long-term prospect of establishing an export processing zone in Babatngon, Leyte. This time I will reveal to the readers another conversation on a developmental topic with a person who has a lot to say but prefers to be anonymous.
He talked about government projects, including the Tacloban Airport Development Project. He mentioned that a big reason a project suffers delays is the involvement of several agencies. Ordinarily, you would think that the term - the more the merrier - would apply. He thinks otherwise. The participation of many agencies with different personnel and decision-makers delays a project. It is not good for a project in terms of keeping costs low and adhering to a schedule.
Another one is the role of contractual personnel who benefit from the delayed implementation of the project. They are not motivated to speed up project completion.
Still another is that there are technical linkages between several aspects of work such as the waiting time for the completion of concrete works like plastering concrete and the succeeding task of painting. Painters are waiting while the masons are still completing their work. A waste of time.
Also, problems can arise from changes in design for completing a specific task such as the roof of an airport like the one in Tacloban. What can appear to be a cost-saving design ends up more expensive and structurally unsound.
Also, a cause of delay is the need for certain types of workers which may not be readily available as in the case of welders.
Still, another is that the subcontractor is slow in implementing his part of the project, affecting the workload of others and the overall work accomplishment.
Still, another one is the lack of authorization given to personnel in the project to make decisions. Central office action is needed before the field works can proceed especially when there are changes to certain small parts of the work.
I told him about the delay in the implementation of the Babatngon port because of two things. One is the lack of an access road to the site of the port. The other is the lack of an Environmental Compliance Certificate from the DENR. He pointed out that the ECC should have been completed before the conduct of the bidding for the project. He noted that there was a project in Metro Manila that could not start because the project was awarded and construction began but it did not have a building permit.
He also pointed out that some contractors accept projects even it means draining their resources, namely funds and personnel so that material procurement cannot be made on time as in the case, I presume, of the Tacloban Airport Development Project Phase I.
We ended the conversation because it was past one in the afternoon, and we had not taken lunch.
Conversations like this can easily eat your time. But it is worth it. Lessons learned that can be applied in project monitoring. They don’t teach this in school.
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