(ATR) Rio City Hall breaks its contract with the builder of the Olympic velodrome due to lack of progress and the company’s legal problems.
Around the Rings learnt about the development on Monday. City authorities said Tecnosolo was removed from the project following delays, and has fined the company $119,000 for not delivering the venue on time. Tecnosolo has been facing financial issues since filing for bankruptcy in 2012.
Currently the velodrome is 88 percent complete, but less than 70 days remain until the Aug. 5 Rio Olympics opening ceremony.
City hall has placed Engetécnica in charge of construction of the velodrome as part of the shakeup. The company had been working under Tecnosolo as a sub-contractor on the venue since February.
"As a result of the problems that ended in Tecnosolo’s court-ordered restructuring, the company was not able to continue being accountable for the velodrome’s technical services," a City Hall spokesperson toldATR.
"City Hall thus opted for terminating the contract with Tecnosolo and signing an emergency contract with Engetécnica to conclude the venue’s construction. These actions do not alter the contract value for the venue’s construction. The hand-over is expected to happen in June 2016."
Since cancelling the cycling test event in late March, the velodrome has proven to be a major headache for Rio organizers and the International Cycling Union (UCI). Federation president Brian Cookson told ATR last week thathe remained "extremely concerned," about the state of the venue.
Organizers are scrambling tofinish the venue before a training session is scheduled for June 25-27, which doubles as the venue's only test event. It aims to allow some cyclists to use the venue and for facility operations, timing and scoring mechanisms to be tested. If the venue cannot be completed before the end of June, work may stop during that time to allow for the training event to go ahead as planned, with the venue then to be completed in early July.
Written by Aaron Bauer in Rio de Janeiro
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