By Jenniffer B. Austria | September
10, 2013 ] manilastandardtoday.com
Ayala Land Inc., the biggest property
company in the Philippines, said Monday it will resume talks with the
provincial government of Negros Occidental over the development of the
7.7-hectare Bacolod Capitol project.
Ayala Land said in a disclosure to the
stock exchange it received information from the provincial government that the
Commission on Audit in a resolution affirmed the finality of a Sept. 21, 2012
ruling that approved the conditional deed of sale and the contract of lease
between the company and the province.
“We welcome the decision of the
Commission on Audit and remain in close coordination and discussion with the
province of Negros Occidental on the Bacolod Capitol project,” Ayala Land said.
Ayala Land in September last year said
it was disengaging from the P6-billion proposed development of the 7.7-hectare
property in Bacolod because of delays and legal disputes over the property.
Ayala Land said in June this year that
it was again open to negotiations of the Bacolod property, although it was
still concerned with a pending legal case, which may affect the company’s
long-term development plans for the lot.
Ayala Land earlier said it planned to
invest P6 billion to transform the Bacolod property into a mixed-use
development with residential and commercial projects.
It has said it will “build an
integrated mixed-use civic and commercial center that will combine the center
of government with commercial and residential uses, making the growth center of
Metro Bacolod and Negros Occidental—the Capital Civic Center—one-of-a-kind
convergence of business community and government.”
“The proposed development will be
consistent with the vision of developing the provincial capitol property in a
manner that will realize and uphold the sustained cultural, civic and economic
ideals of the provincial government and of the entire province of Negros
Occidental,” it added.
SM Prime Holdings Inc., the country’s
largest shopping mall operator and developer, has contested the award of the
property to Ayala Land.
SM Prime last year filed a petition in
court questioning the award of the
provincial government of Negros Occidental. SM Prime claimed that it
submitted a far more superior bid during the July 7, 2011 auction of the
7.7-hectare property.
SM Prime said it offered to purchase
portions of the property at P18,885 per square meter and lease the remaining
portion at P65 per sq. m., or well within the price set by the awards
committee.
SM Prime said Ayala Land submitted a
bid that effectively offered to purchase the property at P17,000 per sq. m. and
a lease arrangement of P50 per sq. m.
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