New Riga Theatre (JRT) intends to protest against delays with completion of restoration of the theatre’s building on Lāčplēsis Street in Riga by not producing new performances, as confirmed by JRT artistic director Alvis Hermanis on Facebook.
He stressed that repairs of the building have continued for five years, and now construction work has hit a «dead end» again – the completion term is unknown and the theatre is seriously considering terminating the contract with State Real Estate (VNI) and SBSC construction company. According to JRT’s artistic director, this means repairs may last for another two to three years.
«Construction workers are not asking for more funding, only an advance, the payment of which is not possible due to bureaucrats’ own made-up rules. If they are paid this amount, they guarantee completion of work by September,» explained Hermanis, adding that only the client can resolve this situation.
The director says the last performance will be held on the 28th of February.
He also said JRT will continue repertoire performances, but there will be no new productions at the theatre’s temporary home at the Tobacco factory. «The next new production will happen only at the theatre’s main location on Lāčplēsis Street in Riga. If this is an indefinite project for the state, then JRT announces an indefinite strike,» Hermanis wrote.
On the 18th of January it is planned to hold a construction monitoring meeting, during which VNI representatives plan to reach an agreement with SBSC, which consists of Skonto būve and Skonto Construction, in regards to specific deadlines.
As reported by VNI board member Jeļena Gavrilova, in accordance with the signed contract, the deadline for the project is the 11th of March 2023. However, the construction company has publicly said it is very likely this deadline will not be met, as only 70% of construction work has been completed so far.
Gavrilova said that so far there have been the Covid-19 pandemic and the consequences from the Russian-Ukrainian war. Both have had a strong impact on the construction sector. Nevertheless, VNI has used all available resources to meet SBSC halfway and help complete JRT project on time.
‘Unfortunately, we have exhausted all of our resources. This is why we have decided to appeal to the contract and the conscience of the construction company to ensure the remaining work is completed as quickly as possible. For the Wednesday’s meeting VNI expects SBSC to present a specific term within which they can deliver JRT,’ stressed Gavrilova.
If SBSC fails to commission the theatre by the 11th of March, a penalty will be applied – EUR 30 000 a day. Gavrilova reminds that SBSC has made multiple requests in recent time, and VNI has satisfied them. Additionally, all the receipts submitted by SBSC so far have been paid on time and in full.
She also explained that VNI is actively involved in management of the contract – the institution reviewed opportunities
and created solutions to help compensate the construction company EUR 2.18 million of the recent price increase.
Following a request from SBSC, VNI also provided an advance of EUR 1 million. Receipts received from the construction company are paid several times a month – within one to two days after receiving, not once a month within 30 days as it was at the beginning.
VNI did mentioned previously that without speeding up, it will not be possible to meet the deadline. There are approximately 100 people working on the theatre’s reconstruction at the moment. To meet the deadline, SBSC mentioned it was planned to increase the number of workers to 240 people. However, the contractor has yet to reach this level of work intensity.
SBSC has recently requested an additional advance, but the payment will be possible only once the contractor has submitted proof of the increase of costs.
JRT reconstruction and renovation project was commenced in 2018. Construction work commenced in 2020. The theatre’s reconstruction contract was signed with SBSC for EUR 32.4 million. This amount also covers indexation and possible price fluctuations.
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