Construction firm BAM has again lodged proceedings in the High Court against the board overseeing the development of the national children’s hospital after the latter disputed an independent conciliator’s recommendation that it pay millions of euro in additional fees to the builders.
The dispute arises from a claim made by BAM for additional payments from the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB) for works carried out on the project. BAM was obliged to lodge the proceedings in the High Court last Friday in order to secure the multimillion euro payment – which was recommended by the conciliator in late November – when earlier phases of an mutually-agreed dispute management process were exhausted without a resolution.
The proceedings filed on Friday come after a similar scenario arose last June, when BAM took High Court action following the board’s rejection of the conciliator’s recommendation that the builders receive an extra €107 million.
The November sum has been paid to BAM by the board, as per the disputes management process. This stipulates that the board must pay the money “only if BAM initiates High Court proceedings and raises a surety bond from a third party”, a NPHDB spokeswoman said in a statement on Monday. The bond acts as security in the event that the High Court rules against BAM in the dispute.
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NPHDB said that it would “defend the matter before the courts to minimise exposure to this and any other claims that it considers to be without merit and/or to be inflated”.
In a statement on Monday, BAM said that it has “routinely” been “awarded monies due to it under the terms of the national children’s hospital contract” by the conciliator.
“The NPDHB has disputed the majority of the standing conciliator’s recommendations to date and, when one side disputes a conciliator’s decision, it is the responsibility of the other side (in this case, BAM) to commence court proceedings as the next phase of the contract’s dispute management process,” a spokesman for the building firm said.
“The standing conciliator’s recommendation is binding until or unless a different decision is reached by the court and awards to date have been paid to BAM.”
The new national children’s hospital has been beset by delays – some due to the Covid-19 pandemic – and spiralling costs.
Earlier this year, it was revealed the cost of the hospital has increased by more than €500 million, bringing the total sum expected to be spent on the NCH, its two satellite centres, and transitioning of services to the main building at the St James’s campus, to €2.2 billion.
David Gunning, chief officer of the NPHDB, in September told the Oireachtas Committee on Health that construction of the hospital was 94 per cent complete. The most recent substantial completion date provided by BAM is June 2025, which Mr Gunning said “will facilitate 2026 opening”. However, he also expressed caution about that timeline.
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