Uncertainty continues for Quito tunnel

Argentine construction company José Cartellone and municipal authorities have yet to reach agreement about extending the deadline to build the Interoceánica Avenue tunnel in Ecuadorian capital Quito, El Comercio reported. It is hoped that an agreement can be reached before the July 30 date when the temporary import permit for the tunneling equipment expires, and it has to leave the country. An extension was catered for in the contract according to builders' representative Eduardo Dalla Vía, who also said the work would be completed by March 2005. An extension to the deadline would increase the final cost of the project to US$30.0mn from US$26.5mn, the newspaper reported. Work on the project restarted earlier this month after municipal-owned Empresa Metropolitana de Obras Públicas (EMOP) and Cartellone reached an agreement over work payments that the construction firm had not received. Payment problems continue, according to the newspaper. The two-lane tunnel will be 1.3km in length.