Posted
on December 07, 2015 11:33:00 PM [ BusinessWorldonline.com]
By
Carmelito Q. Francisco, Correspondent
DAVAO
CITY -- The proposed P40-billion reclamation project in Davao City is expected
to take off early next year with the original proponent, Mega Harbour
Development Corp., poised to bag the contract after no counter-bids were
submitted in a Swiss challenge last month.
“No
other company expressed interest in the project, although there was one which
sought that the period to challenge the project be extended,” Ivan C. Cortez,
acting head of the Davao City Investment Promotion Center (DCIPC), told
BusinessWorld.
The
request for extension, however, was not granted as the unnamed company
submitted it to the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center under the national
government instead of the city government, which is the lead implementer and
will serve as the project partner.
Mega
Harbour, owned by the group of businessman Reghis M. Romero II, had submitted
an unsolicited proposal to the city government to develop a 200-hectare
mixed-use project via reclamation.
This
triggered the Swiss challenge, which was held last month. Under the Swiss
challenge mechanism, Mega Harbour as the original proponent of the project is
allowed to match a challenger’s bid.
Mr.
Cortez said the city council is now reviewing the resolution that would grant
Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte the authority to sign a memorandum of agreement (MoA)
with Mega Harbour to get the project underway.
“Because
this is a local project, the mayor cannot sign without the authority of the
city council,” he explained.
The
project, covering 200 hectares from the existing Sta. Ana Wharf to the Bucana
area where the Davao River flows out to the Davao Gulf, would be a joint
venture between the company and the city government. The contract would be
under a “perpetual” term unless the MoA is revoked.
Under
the plan, Mega Harbour will begin with the reclamation of four islands, with
the first to be developed as a modern port that “will service all kinds of vessels”
with a berthing length of about 2.5 kilometers, which will make it the longest
in the Davao Region.
The
second and third islands will be for mixed-use development, including
commercial components.
The
city government will get about five hectares for public offices in either of
these two islands.
“The
city government is given the privilege to choose where to locate,” Mr. Cortez
said.
The
first three islands will be interconnected and will have a common access to the
mainland.
The
fourth island will feature the residential component, including the relocation
housing site for affected settlers in the project area. It will not be
connected to the other three islands and will have its own access to the
mainland.
Mr.
Cortez said the reclamation project would practically render the planned
P18.99-billion Sasa port modernization project “useless.”
“It
might become (a white elephant) if it would not be more efficient than the
other ports as well as the port that would be built in the reclamation
project,” Mr. Cortez said.
The
DCIPC official noted that the Sasa Port project has yet to secure an
endorsement from the city council, which is a required under the law.
The
Sasa modernization project, to be rolled out by the Department of
Transportation and Communications (DoTC) under the public-private partnership
(PPP) program, has met opposition from the local business community and local
governments units.
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