On Thursday, Acciona set out a revised plan to complete the work on the centre and hotel. It is now looking at 24 February next year. The plan has been presented to the town hall and the regional government, and Acciona has been informed that it will be studied by technicians from the Palacio company, with the intention being that there will be a further meeting next week.
The work on the Palacio, which started in 2008, should have been finished on 31 December. This was before Acciona stopped work for almost two weeks, claiming that its August invoice hadn’t been paid in time. The Palacio company (the board of which comprises town hall and government representatives) stated on 24 November that the 2.1 million for August had been passed for payment, which was in accordance with the contract. It further stated that no new plan of work would be accepted. Ultimately, however, the mayor, José Hila, agreed that any decision should be subject to technical criteria.
Hila says of the application to extend the deadline to February that the important thing is that Acciona finishes the work. “It is Acciona which should guarantee this and comply with it. I’m not interested in the date, I want them to finish.”
Some doubt has been shed (if only by opposition politicians) on the funds available to pay for the work, but the Palacio company insists that the accounts are such that payments are guaranteed. The latest invoice from Acciona, for September, was issued on 20 November and is for almost two million euros. Remaining payments are set at 11.4 million and are covered, says the company, as funding includes a 6.1 million budget for 2015 from the government, while from a total of 23.75 million euros, some eight million remain.
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One day this White Elephant might be finished but don't hold your breath but the cost has risen so high that it will be a long time, if ever before it makes a profit and one has to wonder for how much of the year the convention centre will be empty.?