The Regional Development Council VIII-Regional Project Monitoring Committee (RDC VIII-RPMC) inspected infrastructure projects of the Northwest Samar State University (NwSSU) in Calbayog City on 17 August 2021, part of the Committee’s third quarter 2021 field monitoring visit.

The monitoring team reported several recently-completed projects in the University including the construction of the 4-Storey Administration Building Phase 2, the 4-Storey Student Affairs Services Building Phase 2, and the Library Building/Audio-Visual Hall Phase 2 and 3; Phase 3 and 4 of the Concrete Fencing of NwSSU lots; and renovation and improvement of the Information Technology (IT) Building Phase 4 and Multi-Purpose Building (Socio-Cultural Center) Phase 3.

The completion of some of these projects represent only a portion of the total planned improvement or construction. The improvement and rehabilitation of the Multipurpose Building Phase-3 only represents 58% of the planned improvement; while the Phase 3 and 4 concrete fencing of NwSSU lots constitute only 80% of the entire campus lot to be fenced; and the Phase 4 renovation of the IT Building constitutes only 95% of the entire renovation works.

Meanwhile, ongoing works at the NwSSU campus include the construction of Phase 2 and 3 of the student dormitory; construction of Phase 2 and 3 of the hotel laboratory; improvement of the campus access road; and expansion and rehabilitation of the electrical system.

Construction of the student dormitory is currently at 93.86% completion and was expected to be completed by June 2021. However, delays in completion meant that the project is incurring a negative slippage of 6.14 percent.

Moreover, the current contract will not complete structurally the entire building, leaving the re-bars exposed to natural deterioration.

The monitoring team recommended that NwSSU compel the contractor to finish the remaining works and prioritize the funding of the remaining works for the entire building.

On the other hand, construction of Phase 2 and 3 of the hotel laboratory and the improvement of the campus access road are both on schedule with an accomplishment of 88.57% and 89.31% respectively. Both projects are expected to be completed in September of this year.

Finally, the ongoing Phase 1 expansion and rehabilitation of the campus electrical system is currently on schedule with an accomplishment of 43.56%.

The contract for the project constitutes only 22% of the planned expansion and rehabilitation of the electrical system for the entire campus.

The monitoring team recommended that NwSSU prioritize requesting funds for the expansion and rehabilitation of the electrical system in the remaining areas of the campus.

The project is expected to be completed by December 2021.

Article and Photos by: Knulp Aseo, DRD and Erlito H. Vitor, PMED