By Carola Rico
Dr. Javier de la Fuente Hernández, is head of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), of the San Miguel de Allende Extension of the Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores (National School of Higher Education), ENES León. He visited the city to attend the press conference at the Seventh Festival of Arts and Human Sciences organized by the UNAM House of Studies on April 28.
Following the event, Dr. de la Fuente spoke with local media about the new UNAM building. The San Miguel extension is being built on Universidades Avenue in the upper part of the city. He explained that there had been a pause in construction, but that on Feb., 4, of this year, the project was resumed. Construction has not stopped since and the building is expected to be ready in October of this year.
The work was paused because the company that won the bid had faced some economic problems. They were presented with a certificate of non-compliance by the Offices of Infrastructure, Connectivity and Mobility (SICOM), and it was decided that it was no longer feasible for the company to continue with the work. Subsequently, termination procedures had to be carried out, including delivery of work permits and inventories. An agreement was made between the company and SICOM regarding terms and amounts of settlements. The process was very complicated.
Dr. de la Fuente indicated that this delay will increase the amount of the work. The total cost of the remaining construction is over 43 million pesos. The funds will come in equal parts from the municipality, the State and UNAM. In addition to that amount, funds will be added for equipment, service areas, sports and recreational areas, and the parking lot. These were not included in the initial budget and will be funded at the 90 percent level by UNAM, and at the 10 percent level by the municipality. Construction of this last phase—recreation, sports and food courts—began at the end of April, and will ensure that the entire complex is ready in October.
This has been a 12-year project that began in 2010. Originally, the land being considered was near Charco del Ingenio, but it was not suitable because of environmental issues. The project was reconsidered and relocated to Universidades Avenue, near the Sanmiguelense Institute and the San Miguel Technological University. De la Fuente said that he is very grateful for the current use of the building located on Mesones Street in the historic center. He is also grateful to the House of Culture because they allowed the use of their facilities for house studies. He emphasized that the campus under construction will integrate all the activities important to San Miguel and for many nearby municipalities. The problem with the building in the historic center is that the space is small for the range of academic studies that UNAM plans to offer, and there is no possibility of expansion of that space.
As for the academics, the new space will offer a degree in Translation and Languages, as well as various continuing education courses. There will also be a care polyclinic with a specialized team. At present, UNAM has more than 170 students. The new building is expected to house more than 600 students once all activities begin.
Atencion requested information on the status of the work on the UNAM building, and this was the data supplied.
Fact Sheet:
Completion of the first stage of the master plan for UNAM San Miguel de Allende.
- Full amount of investment at this stage: $36,033,626.77
- (First contract $10,554,043.23; second contract $25,479,583.54)
- Overall progress of the work: 40 percent.
- Completion date of the work: Oct. 31, 2022
Relevance of the work: The actions will allow for a greater number of educational spaces, where students from San Miguel and the surrounding areas will be able to continue with their academic preparation at a professional level.
Scope:
- Two-story building.
- Ground floor: 4 classrooms, a polyclinic, women’s restroom, educational site, central corridor
- Upper floor: 9 classrooms, ambulatory, men’s toilet
- Service stairs
- Cistern and machine room
- Electrical room.
- Reinforced concrete foundation
- Metallic structure
- Dividing walls of red brick
- Concrete pavements
- Steel slab roofs
- Manholes for drainage system
Works done so far:
- Cistern: The walls and slab are cast at 100 percent; work is being done on stripping. Machine room cover missing.
- Polyclinic: Work is being done on hydraulic installations and on trench masonry.
- Classroom building (ground floor): Work is being done on the electrical, voice and data installation ductwork.
- Classroom building (upper floor): Work is being done on flattening of dividing walls of site and electrical room; work is being done on leveling walls of dividing partitions of classrooms.
- Sanitary services (ground floor): The braza stone wall was completed in the bathrooms at the southern end, and the western wall is being worked on.
- Sanitary services (upper floor): Work is being done on partition walls.
- Central Patio: Work is being done on electrical, voice, and data ductwork.
- Electrical room: Works have been completed at the level of gray work and the transformer is available.
- Company in charge of the work: Constructora y Edificadora Guanajuatense, S.A. of C.V.
- The Final Amount: 43,030,761 pesos will be invested in the construction of the UNAM, San Miguel de Allende.
Completed stage: “Complementary work of the first stage of the extension of San Miguel Allende of the UNAM”
- The stage of the project that is 100 percent completed was done from July 21, 2021 to Feb. 18, 2022.
- The total amount of investment was 6,997,135 pesos.
- The works consisted of construction of the administrative building, the main access portico, vehicle and pedestrian control booths, as well as sidewalks and gates.
