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Gov. backs audit of sewerline project
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Posted on Apr 26 1999
Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio is backing the proposal of the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation to conduct a financial audit of the initial contract for the construction of the sewerline, but warned officials that such review should not impede the resumption of the project.
CUC and the Commonwealth Ports Authority recently agreed to share the cost of settling the $750,00 in unpaid obligation to the Pacific Drilling Ltd., putting the critical project back on track after almost a year it was halted.
Under the agreement, the government-owned utility firm will shoulder $400,000 of the amount, while the rest by the ports authority. However, CUC said it wanted a financial review before it pays its share, a move that could further delay the project.
But Tenorio said that while he supports an audit, he exhorted officials of the two agencies to proceed with the sewerline construction expeditiously.
“We want to make sure how much is expended, but of course this should not delay the project. Tthe project is going to proceed,” the governor said in an interview.
The sewer pipeline, which will run from Saipan International Airport to Agingan Waste Water Treatment, will benefit some 1,000 households whose groundwater supply is prone to contamination without the system in place.
The squabble between CUC and CPA over who is paying the contractor had left the project unfinished after Pacific Drilling stopped the construction because of the unpaid bills. Pacific Drilling threatened to sue the agencies for failing to settle their obligation.
The CUC is expected to review the entire project based on its specifications before it takes over the project, according to the agency’s executive director, Timothy P. Villagomez.
Officials of the utility firm is expected to meet with CPA and Pacific Drilling to discuss the completion of the project, whose total cost has now reached closed to $5 million.
