"The country will not tolerate a strike in this project," Quijano said at a press conference this morning.

Quijano stressed that GUPC has a responsibility to its employees and that "it should not try to pass this responsibility to the ACP."

He added that the ACP has "multiple contractors" who have resolved issues by their own means without disrupting their work schedules.

The project has been threatened with a delay due to a demand for wa wage increase by the construction workers union Suntracs. The union wants an 8.9 percent increase retroactive to July 1. The strike, initially scheduled for today, could start Wednesday. GUPC has said that it hopes to resolve differences with workers by means of dialogue.

Quijano said that any further delays in the project will be governed by the contract it has with GUPC, which calls for penalties to be imposed if the work is not completed on time.

The administrator also reaffirmed that it will not consider claims that are outside the contract originally agreed upon with GUPC.

This relates to the$2.2 billion claim filed by Italian contractor Salini Impregilo, one of the members of GUPC.

Quijano said that the project is 93 percent complete and all the materials are available to finish it.

"There is no reason for the work to be stopped," he said.

The project is expected to be finished in April 2016.

La Prensa