Mayer Mizrachi, the current mayor of Panama, is considering assigning tasks to the deputy mayor (on leave without pay) Roberto Ruiz Díaz at the shelter that will house people living on the streets, located in the Las Garzas district, east of the capital district. This project, according to Mizrachi, is “about to open,” and therefore, he added, “they are short-staffed.” Before obtaining the license, Ruiz Díaz served as Secretary General of the Panama City Hall. The mayor addressed the issue this Tuesday at the Atlapa Convention Center during the Job Fair 2.0 organized by his administration. Below is the 3.7 million dollar Heron Shelter.
But what is known about this project? How much did it cost? Who built it? How was it managed? According to documents available on PanamaCompra, as well as information from the Municipality of Panama and the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), it has been in process for more than four years. It took its first steps during the administration of the PRD member José Luis Fábrega in the Municipality of Panama (2019-2024).
José Luis Fábrega, former mayor of the Municipality of Panama.
What is it?
It is a comprehensive care center for homeless people, designed to accommodate 150 men and 100 women, distributed in two separate pavilions. According to the Municipality of Panama, the building has bedrooms, dining rooms, a kitchen, a laundry room, a pharmacy, medical offices, spaces for individual and group therapy, and workshops for training in trades such as carpentry, electricity, plumbing, welding and sewing.
Who Built it and How Much did it Cost?
The Municipality of Panama convened public act No. 2022-5-76-0-08-LV-014602 on April 6, 2022. Two companies submitted proposals on May 5 of that year: RJ Inversiones, SA. for $3,760,819.36 and Constructora Pacífico Atlántico, SA. for $3,741,100. The evaluation committee, in a report dated May 12, 2022, gave RJ Inversiones a score of 94% and concluded that its proposal (although slightly more expensive than the other) represented the best interests of the State. The then mayor Fábrega awarded the contract to RJ Inversiones through Resolution 077 of May 20, 2022, for the “construction of municipal shelter – stage I, Las Garzas district, Panama district”. In January 2024, the MEF announced that the shelter was being built along with 500 social housing units from the “Techo de Esperanza” program.
How Did the Work Progress?
Construction began in early 2023. In September of that year, according to a press release from the Municipality of Panama, it was 35% complete. In May 2024, it was 90% complete, according to what the project’s architect, Cristian Sambrano, told EcoTV. On June 30, 2024, the Municipality of Panama City handed over the project’s facilities. According to a press release from that entity, an interdisciplinary team would be in charge of the census, diagnosis, and treatment of homeless individuals before their eventual admission to the service. Two years and two months later, he is still unemployed. This Tuesday, in Atlapa, Mayor Mizrachi said that “it is about to open.”
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