2023-06-14 07:32:53
The dismantling of the Interior of the Palais du Midi combined with the use of a proven technique construction of the tunnel was the least bad option to take to get the Nord-Albert metro project out of the stalemate in this place. This is what Mobility Minister Elke Van den Brandt (Groen) argued once again, in great detail, in a committee of the Brussels parliament on Tuesday morning.
Some in the opposition have reproached the Brussels government over the last few days, in barely veiled terms, for a lack of transparency in this dossier and judged that all the possible options had not been sufficiently taken into consideration. The ecologist minister endeavored to demonstrate the contrary by giving again many details provided previously, but also in the note of the government transmitted to the parliament.
Lack of satisfactory response
According to her, persisting in the technique of “jet grouting“, even revisited – it is this technique which led to the stoppage of the work for risk of instability of the structure – generates high risks of several kinds: extension of the schedule for the construction of the metro by 8 years with commissioning in 2035, an additional cost of around 245 million euros for the section under the Palais du Midi and also very significant nuisances for the district.
“Even more serious, on the basis of an estimate of the execution schedule, significant nuisances for the occupants of the Palais du Midi and those of the “Stalingrad village” (Editor’s note: which temporarily houses shops) and more broadly for the district would have been inevitable between mid-2023 and the end of 2027. These nuisances would also have led to the relocation of school facilities and shops from the Palais“, she underlined. In addition, the entrepreneur had accompanied his offer with a withdrawal of his obligations of results, which was “unacceptable“.
“STIB therefore noted the absence of a satisfactory response to its repeated requests for a breakdown of prices. Either, an almost total insecurity on the results“, added Ms. Van den Brandt.
In a second scenario (note: also rejected by the Brussels government) consisting of relaunching several new public contracts to create the missing piece of tunnel, the contractor could want to claim payment of a series of indemnities. In this case, the performance of work related to the Palais du Midi and the Lemonnier tram station would be the subject of one or more new contracts which would be launched in addition to an application for an urban planning permit. to free itself from the constraint of maintaining the Palais du Midi.
Cumbersome procedures
“Having to award new public contracts of such magnitude entails multiple risks linked to the cumbersome related award procedures, but above all to the risks of coordinating several competing contractors in the same site footprint and the performance of the works at the level of their interfaces, apart from the temporal uncertainty for the future of the district“. It is also likely that a market which would be launched by the STIB to open up competition for the works which are the most technically difficult will probably lead to very high prices.
The chosen scenario and aiming at a partial dismantling of the Palais du Midi with preservation of the facades, and the construction of the tunnel, via a classic open-air technique, “was the most difficult decision of the legislature, because the Palais du Midi is the heart of this district which has already suffered enormously. It was a decision that took time, because we wanted to be completely sure of the different scenarios and which one we would choose.“, said the minister again.
According to Elke Van den Brandt, this scenario was chosen because it presented both shorter deadlines, a proven technique, a better value/price ratio and the least nuisance for the district.
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