Vol. XXI, No. 178 [ Business World Online ]
Friday, April 11, 2008 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES
CEBU CITY — The local government of Cebu City wants to speed up the development of a reclaimed property the size of more than 700 football fields following government approval of joint venture guidelines.
The city government will use the income from the 300-hectare property to pay amortizations and interest from a ¥12-billion loan from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).
The city used the money to reclaim the land, which has since been classified as a special economic zone by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority.
Several local realty developers have expressed interest to jointly develop portions of the property with the local government. Filinvest Land, Inc. wants to develop close to 50 hectares at the South Road Properties.
Ayala Land, Inc. and SM Prime Holdings, Inc. also want to acquire separate properties within the 300-hectare land. They have yet to submit their revised proposals.
Joel Mari S. Yu, managing director of the Cebu Investment Promotions Center (CIPC), noted that the approval of the joint venture guidelines, the city can proceed with the Filinvest Land project without being sued.
"The purchase part [of the proposal] is easy and the joint venture part will now be guided by these [government rules]," he added. The CIPC is the marketing arm of Cebu City.
Mr. Yu said they were still trying to get a copy of the guidelines, but he has started legal consultations on to how to start the projects.
Filinvest Land has proposed two contracts. One covers the purchase for about P2 billion of a 13-hectare lot — the size of 32 football fields — that is the most valuable at the South Road Properties.
The Gotianun — owned firm also wants to jointly develop with the city a 35-hectare lot across the prime property into a mixed-use commercial center that will include recreational facilities, residential condominium buildings and IT buildings.
"We’d be happy even if only one of these three developers pursue their proposed projects," Mr. Yu said. — Marites S. Villamor
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