Vol. XXII, No. 142 [ BusinessWorld Online ]
Thursday, February 19, 2009 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES
LISTED ABACUS Consolidated Resources & Holdings, Inc.’s real estate unit and partner will start developing the firm’s 82-hectare high-end subdivision in Batangas as soon as it receives the master plan within the first quarter, an official said yesterday.
Abacus Consolidated Corporate Secretary Joaquin E. San Diego said the Punta Verde project, jointly developed by Solar Resources, Inc. and unit Omnicor Industrial Estate & Realty Center, Inc., is still in the pre-development stage, with work on it mostly involving clearing the landscape.
The corporate regulator gave Omnicor Industrial, which owns the land to be developed in Pagkilatan and Matuco towns in Batangas, the go-signal last week to hike its capital stock by a quarter to P250 million, P12.5 million of which had been bought by Abacus Consolidated.
Mr. San Diego said the funds would mostly be used for initial clearing operations in Batangas. The company, he added, does not expect to shell out more money since Solar Resources will shoulder the bulk of development expenses, while Omnicor Industrial will provide the land.
"Everything will depend on the master plan, but as of the moment we don’t foresee additional infusion," he said. Mr. San Diego added that the company’s scheduled sale of lots in January had been delayed because the master plan, which the company expected to receive last September and was to be designed by architect Felino A. Palafox, Jr., had not been finished.
"There are just a few issues that need to be resolved regarding the location of the road that goes around the property," he said. "The master plan is almost done, but the technical boundaries of the road relative to the property being developed were being verified."
In December, Abacus Consolidated said 30 lots with an average size of 220 square meters would be available for sale starting January, while about 100 more will be ready by mid-2009. He declined to provide the total project expense, scheduled to be finished in four years. — Don Gil K. Carreon
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