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The Project falls under the Ministry of Human Development Social Transformation and Poverty Alleviation - and we asked the Minister about the problems it's been experiencing. He told us he sees no problem:...

Hon. Anthony Martinez
"As far as I see it passing here every day it is well progressing."

Reporter
"If you pass here right now no workers are here because no workers are getting paid."

Hon. Anthony Martinez
"What's my business with that sir? They have a contract and a part from that they have a legal obligation. If they don't live up to their legal obligation then there's penalty for that. Why are we trying to make a little hill up to a big mountain for?"

Reporter
"Sir it was to finish building already."

Hon. Anthony Martinez
"I don't know about that and I don't have the details. The man said its better than Jules was late than the late Jules. Which one do you prefer? As far as I know all the timeline that has been set including extensions have been met. I am happy. This morning I saw a man up there on a ladder, I see scaffold, I don't know I'm not the contractor so I don't think you are to drill me on that."

And while Minister Martinez claims no responsibility for the contractor's shortfalls - his CEO had a more tactful response. She acknowledged that there are problems, but it's not at a cost to the taxpayer:

Judith Alpuche, CEO - Ministry of Human Development
"Wood, Brick and Stone, which is a joint venture company between 2 contractors were selected. They had all their legal paperwork, all their backing information - everything that is needed and it passed with CDB. So they approved. We had the groundbreaking in 2016, they were supposed to finish in 2017. The project is delayed."

"We have been working with them, because at the point where they should have completed the building was 90% complete, or the scope of works, if you will, was 90% complete. So we look at it, spoke to the people and anybody who knows about these things know that if you terminate a contract like that, it always cost more. So when we look at all the opportunity cost, when we spoke to the contractors the decision was made that the most prudent thing and by the way, there is a project steering committee that oversights this project as is the rules with CDB. So when we look at all of it, we decided to try to sit down with the contractors and to see if we could get them to complete. I need to make this point because of the inferences. When these people are paid, they are paid on certificates. So the supervising firms, Young's Engineering goes out there, sees what is completed, certifies and that is sent directly to CDB. CDB pays Wood, Brick and Stone."

"Just to be very clear, no money has been lost. CDB is right in the middle of it. They are the ones paying directly. Every payment has to meet with their no objection. The agreement, contract had to be met with their no objection. There is something that the contractors are going through and it's a management and we have been working with them on it and they have been making progress. So we are expecting that they will complete. It is delayed, but they will complete. The most we are looking at it 3 months."

Jules Vasquez, reporter
"But you can't speed it up if people aren't at work and people haven't been at work since Friday."

Judith Alpuche
"That is something that we've been talking to them about. I don't know what's going on with the contractor and their labor people and their labor issues. Of course we are concern about that because we are the Ministry of Human Development, so we are concern about the preservation of people's labor rights. But it isn't as if though any money is missing or anything whatever."