Filinvest plan to develop part of reclaimed South Road Properties gets nod
CEBU CITY — Aside from Filinvest Land, Inc., developers Ayala Land, Inc. and SM Prime Holdings, Inc. have also expressed interest in acquiring properties within the 300-hectare greenfield land reclaimed by the Cebu city government.
South Road Properties off the coast of Cebu’s central business district
is designed for mixed land use, and can accommodate
manufacturing, commercial, tourism, and information technology firms.
Ayala Land and SM Prime, however, were asked to revise their proposals because of some "objectionable items" while Filinvest has submitted its revised offer, which got a favorable response from the city government, said Cebu Investment Promotions Center Managing Director Joel Mari S. Yu.
"We evaluated all three proposals together. The difference is that Filinvest is a little more interested and more diligent than Ayala or SM. The three proposals don’t compete with each other. They are looking at different areas and are planning to undertake different projects," Mr. Yu said.
All three developers had offered to acquire close to 50 hectares each at the South Road Properties and embark on mixed-use developments, each with a retail component, Mr. Yu added.
But only SM will construct a mall. SM Prime President Hans T. Sy confirmed in an interview last year that his company wants to introduce at the South Road Properties a mixed-use development similar to the SM Central Business Park in Pasay.
Ayala will develop facilities for the information technology (IT) industry, while Filinvest plans to put up residential condominium buildings and recreational facilities, Mr. Yu said.
Mr. Yu said he was still waiting for the revised proposals from Ayala and SM even with reports quoting Cebu City Mayor Tomas R. Osmeña as having said that talks with Ayala and SM have been suspended, and that the Filinvest proposal was favorable.
"I’m under no instructions [from the mayor] not to accept other proposals. I’m still following up [the Ayala and SM proposals]. I just reminded them again today to submit [them]," he said.
The Cebu Investment Promotions Center is the marketing arm of the city government for the South Road Properties.
The Cebu city government plans to bid out the lots, which would comprise half of the total reclaimed area, upon approval by the Commission on Audit of the bidding process.
Marissa N. Fernan, SM Prime senior vice-president for mall operations, said she was not aware of preparations to submit a revised proposal to the city government.
"As far as we are concerned, the ball is in their hands," she said in a telephone interview.
Ayala Land officials declined to comment as the company will hold its stockholders’ meeting on April 2.
The deals, if closed, will allow the Cebu city government to service amortizations and interest payments for a ¥12-billion loan from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, which was used for reclamation project.
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