Vol. XXII, No. 3 [ BusinessWorld Online ]
Wednesday, July 30, 2008 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES
DAVAO CITY — The city council has reclassified a portion of a 9.5-hectare property as a major commercial zone, paving the way for the construction of a P2.3-billion Ayala mall and business park here.
Voting unanimously, councilors approved the application of Anflocor Management and Investment Corp., the local partner of Ayala Land, Inc., to reclassify a portion of the land identified as a residential zone after a two-hour debate in plenary. A zoning application is the first and easiest process in the approval of a project, Councilor Victorio S. Advincula said.
The next process is the application for a clearance from the City Engineer’s Office, a development permit and, finally, an authority to serve. "We can ask them to come back here and ask for their development plan," he said.
Specifically, the developers will have to inform the city about their drainage plan and whether they have consulted the Public Works department. Mr. Advincula said it would be unfair to grill the representatives of Ayala Land’s local partner about the project’s drainage and traffic management plans when what they have presented so far is purely conceptual.
Celso Gempesaw, Traffic Management Center chief, said their apprehensions about worsening traffic had been answered by the project proponents. He said Anflocor officials had assured them of full cooperation, including shouldering the cost of the traffic signs to ease traffic.
Based on the presentation of the Innovation and Design Group, the architect of the project, Ayala’s mixed-use center includes a 55,000-square meter Ayala Center and a business process outsourcing building within a 20,000-square meter property. Construction will be done in four phases starting next year and will be completed by 2012. The centerpiece of the project, Ayala Center Davao — the 11th Ayala mall in the country — is expected to be finished by 2010. — Joel B. Escovilla
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