The GUPC consortium building the third set of locks for the Canal Expansion is claiming $573 million from the Panama Canal Authority(ACP) for breach of contract.
Concrete problemsIt claims additional costs for the construction of the third set of locks due to a delay in permits, employees who had stopped their work because the concrete tests were not approved and excessive rains in recent months.
The executive of GUPC said the amount they claim is the right measure. "We're not asking for anything more or less," said the project manager Ricardo Gonzalez.
ACP administrator, Herman Zubieta Aleman said that complaints are normal when the contractor faces different conditions … there is a procedure to view this topic, he said. "They have their arguments and we have ours."
GUPC was awarded the contract for design and construction of the third set of locks for $3.18 billion. The project is reported as six months behind and the work will be ready in April 2015 and not October 2014 as planned.
The delays are related to pouring concrete for the locks, which started six months late because the consortium was unable to deliver the mixture with the required specifications. Gonzalez said the consortium is trying to catch up on the schedule In the contract there are three mechanisms to settle disputes with the contractor. First, the consortium must submit the claim to the ACP, and second, if no agreement is reached it can go before a board of adjudication, and third, go to a final appeal to an Internatii=oanl Court of Arbitration.
