An almost ISK 3 billion construction at a nursing home in Höfn has been severely delayed. Residents and staff will have to endure lack of space and disruption much longer than planned.
At the Skjólgarður nursing home there will be good facilities with 30 single rooms – that is, once the new extension is completed and alterations to the older building are finished.
The house has now been wrapped in a so-called weather cover with blowers used to dry it, after moisture was measured in the outer walls after rainstorms.
The building was supposed to be ready by New Year, but construction has been seriously delayed. Residents and staff are tired of waiting, of the disruption, and of the limited space due to the works.
Matthildur Ásmundardóttir, office manager at Vigdísarholt, an organisation which operates nursing homes, described the delays:
There has been noise, lack of air, so conditions for both residents and staff are poor and have been so for quite a long time. The plan was to move in around last New Year’s. Then everything was rushed and we aimed for moving in May, which did not happen. Then June was mentioned, then September. But as we can see now, it is not likely that the move will happen this month.
Completion is now planned for April next year – about a year and a half behind schedule.
The contractor Húsheild/Hyrna demanded compensation for delays that it said were not its responsibility, but Framkvæmdasýslan Ríkiseignir (Government Construction Agency, State Properties) only accepted part of the claim.
The weather cover cost about ISK 20 million, but the agency refused to make good that expense, according to Húsheild/Hyrna. The project has gone badly, and it is expected that the matter will have to be settled with the help of lawyers.
According to information from Framkvæmdasýslan Ríkiseignir, the total cost is expected to be ISK 2.7-2.8 billion, but it may be necessary to settle additional costs at completion if there is a dispute over delays that the contractor considers to be the responsibility of the client.
Source: Ruv.is
