Villarete Asks Council to Prohibit Public Use of all Parts of SRP (June 2006)

The Freeman 06/28/2006

South Reclamation Project manager Nigel Paul Villarete is asking the city council to declare the 296-hectare South Reclamation Project as reserve for current and future use by the city government and prohibits any kind of public use. 

In his letter addressed to the city council, Villarete said that the channel separating the SRP from the mainland should remain open and clear, free from obstruction and any impeding structures or improvements. 

Villarete said that all parts should be immediately and readily accessible by the city government for clean-up, repairs and maintenance purposes. 

"Inasmuch as the channel surrounds and direct abuts the SRP, it is deemed imperative that the city government has direct access and control in case the city needs to establish other management, control, access, or maintenance structures and or improvements anytime in the future," Villarete said. 

It is noted, according to Villarete that in Presidential Proclamation No. 843, which declared the SRP as alienable and disposable, and which transferred ownership to the city government, the approved Survey Plan clearly indicated the necessary Salvage Zone as required by law. 

The Salvage Zone is intended by law to allow sound urban environmental management of coastal areas and protect these areas from encroachment, Villarete said. 

Villarete added that a piece of legislation to that effect, foreshore lease applications, miscellaneous sales applications, fishpond permits, and any other kind of public land uses and applications be prohibited in the area and no applications be approved nor recommended for approval by higher authorities, is also necessary. 

The city government of Cebu, through an Official Development Assistance of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation embarked into a major reclamation project in 1995, called the South Reclamation Project, generally located offshore of the south district of the city. 

The reclamation works was completed in 2000, the initial horizontal infrastructure development and utilities were implemented, and the SRP was declared as a Special Economic Zone through Presidential Proclamation No. 763, issued on January 20, 2005. - Garry B. Lao

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Work on Hospital for Tourists Starts in 1st Part of ’07

Barring any hitches in negotiations, construction of the first medical center in Asia catering to medical tourists will begin in the first quarter of 2007. 

The facility, to be tentatively called the American Specialty Hospital of Cebu, will rise on a two-hectare lot at the Cebu South Reclamation Project (SRP). 
The Cardiovascular Hospitals of America (CHA), which will operate the hospital and owns four similar facilities in the United States, will lease the property for 25 years. 

Dr. Philip Chua, CHA vice president for Far East operations, said the facility will cost about P1 billion. 

Chua was among the speakers in yesterday’s Health and Wellness Forum at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino as part of InTourPreneur 2006, one of the events of the Cebu Business Month. 

Services 

Aside from its state-of-the-art equipment, the hospital will be accredited by the Joint Commission International and will honor international health insurance providers. 

Chua said the hospital will be a “small” one – at least 30 beds – to ensure a fast turnover of patients. 

That way, the patients can still enjoy the other components of the package they have availed themselves of as medical tourists, Chua added. 

The hospital will also offer services popular among medical tourists, specifically open heart, cosmetic, eye and dental surgeries. 

While they will be hiring locals for manpower, Chua said their medical team will be composed of professionals who are trained and licensed in the United States. 

He also assured that while they will cater mostly to tourists who can afford the services, they will accept charity cases in coordination with various government and nongovernment agencies. 

Negotiations 

Chua told Sun.Star Cebu that they are still negotiating with both the national and local governments for various concessions, which will include, among others, the site where the hospital will rise and tax exemptions for being a pioneer in the medical tourism industry. 

Chua, who is also chairman of cardiovascular surgery of the Cebu Doctors’ University Hospital, however said they have at least three concerns that need to be addressed before going full blast in the construction. 

These include return of investment, peace and order, and corruption in politics. (RCT)

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Man-made Beach To Raise SRP Value (June 2006)

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña is disappointed that the South Reclamation Project (SRP) can’t be used yet, but excited about the completion of the man-made white sand beach that is seen to double the property’s value.

The 1.4-kilometer stretch of white sand and the multi-level boardwalk, however, will not be completed before the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit in December.

Osmeña said it is disappointing that the proposed SRP facilities can’t be used for the summit and the other conventions and meetings that will be held in Cebu this year.

“I’m under strong pressure here. There are many interesting events and we can’t even use it, I’m disappointed. There are many business and medical conventions and the Asean summit but we can’t use the SRP,” he told a news conference yesterday.

The mayor blamed the delays on bureaucratic snags and the numerous requirements imposed on the City Government in starting economic activities there.

Osmeña is putting on hold plans to build a new headquarters for the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), saying the City’s priority now is the completion of the SRP.

Besides, he added, he still has doubts on the national leadership of the Philippine National Police, which is why he will postpone the plan to construct a new police camp.

He added the City is preparing for the arrival of three companies who want to put up their factories at the SRP, which would require the City to construct roads there soon.

By the end of August, the whole Pond F and Kawit Island will also be fully electrified to prepare for the investors.

“What we’re working on right now is the completion of the Senior Citizens Center because that’s a political commitment and I want to get that started. But the key here is the white sand beach and the boardwalk,” he said.

The mayor brought members of the local media to Pond F yesterday, where the construction of the boardwalk and the filling up of the coastline with white pebbles is underway.

Once completed, the mayor said the present value of the SRP lots, pegged at P15,000 to P20,000 per square meter, could double.

The white sand stretch is along Pond F, the area claimed by the Talisay City Government.

The filling up of the coastline and the construction of the boardwalk has just started, and work will be gradual since it is still in its trial period.

Osmeña said the construction will be done by phases, at 50 to 100 meters a month.

“We will not finish this in time for the Asean, but what’s important here is that the value of the area will change dramatically when they see a white sand beach... the city will have something everybody can be proud of,” he added.

The boardwalk was designed to be an elevated, split-level type so it can serve as a buffer in the event of a typhoon, he added.

While he admits that the SRP boardwalk will compete with the proposed boardwalk at the reclamation area in Mandaue City, Osmeña said Cebu City’s will be different, “because the water there (Mandaue) is so dirty.”

Osmeña said the standard he would set in managing the SRP would be “higher than Ayala’s” in order to maximize its marketability.

Jeepneys will not be allowed to enter the SRP, electrical lines will not be visible and cleanliness will be monitored at all times, he added. (LCR)

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Cebu Holdings Keeps Mum on Plans at SRP (June 2006)

Monday, June 19, 2006


AYALA-led Cebu Holdings Inc. (CHI) is not closing its doors to the possibility of putting up a mall at the South Reclamation Project (SRP). 

“We are always on the look out for opportunities,” CHI chief operating officer Francis Monera told a press conference at the Cebu City Marriott Hotel last Friday. 

In a separate interview, Cebu Investment Promotions Center (CIPC) managing director Joel Mari Yu said CHI, operator-owner of Ayala Center Cebu, has proposed a joint venture with the Cebu City Government for the construction and operation of a mall on a five-hectare lot at the SRP. 

The mall’s concept is similar to the Market! Market! in Fort Bonifacio. 

The arrangement for the joint-venture would be that CHI will build and operate the establishment rent-free. Both entities will share the profit. 

“The proposal is good but the City wants to earn a certain amount (regularly) and not just depend on whether the company gains from its operations,” Yu said. 

Monera neither denied nor confirmed Yu’s statements. 

Meanwhile, Yu said the City has already approved Visayan Electric Co. as the distributor of electricity at the SRP. 

“Veco will provide power at the SRP. But it will have to pay the City concessionnaire’s fee since the City owns the franchise,” he said. (JBN)

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SRP Development is Tom's Priority, Not Police Office (June 2006)

The Freeman 06/17/2006

The proposal to construct a new Cebu City Police Office building has to take a back seat, at least for now, as Mayor Tomas Osmeña yesterday said he would rather give more importance now to the development of the South Reclamation Project to make it more feasible to investors. 

Osmeña, in his regular press conference yesterday, said the city is now under strong pressure to put in priority the completion of the SRP development considering that three companies, both local and foreign, have conveyed their interests to invest in the area. 

"We can't fight two wars at the same time. We might lose both of them instead," the mayor said, as he explained that the police building proposal should be set aside in favor of the SRP development. "Anyway the police department is always there," he said. 

Osmeña yesterday led reporters to a tour of the SRP's Pond F where he planned to put up white sand beaches and build a boardwalk along the 1.4-kilometer stretch. 

The mayor also said he would beautify Kawit Island within two months and complete soon the senior citizens' building there. 

There has been pressure however over the need to build a new police building inside Camp Sotero Cabahug after police officials informed Police Regional Office-7 that the present buildings of the City Police headquarters are already in dilapidated condition. 

But Osmeña was not obviously bowing to it as he even expressed disappointment instead over the seeming refusal of the Philippine National Police to promote acting City Police director, Supt. Melvin Gayotin, to the rank of senior superintendent. 

This has been "one reason why I'm reluctant to make big commitment because I have lingering doubts over the PNP hierarchy," said Osmeña, adding that the PNP should not force him to choose somebody to replace Gayotin otherwise he would no longer support the CCPO building project. 

Osmeña said the construction of a new building might be realized however "within a couple of years" from now but not this year. He said he would back instead the continuing training of policemen and the purchase of more firearms. 

Regional Intelligence and Investigation Division-7 chief Augusto Marquez said the proposal to construct a new City Police building was discussed already in the past, specifically during the second term of Osmeña and the incumbency of City Police director, Antonio Enteria. 

The proposed budget for the building at the time was P25-million but the project was shelved when Enteria was transferred to another assignment and Osmeña eschewed reelection to give way to Alvin Garcia. - Garry B. Lao

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Charter Provision Delays SRP Bidding (June 2006)

Friday, June 16, 2006


The prohibition on foreigners fully owning land and businesses stalled the bidding of a 20-hectare portion of the South Reclamation Project (SRP) last month. 

Cebu City Administrator Francisco Fernandez said the Cebu Investment and Promotions Center (CIPC) asked the committee on real properties disposal to put on hold the publication of the notice inviting interested bidders to purchase 20 hectares of industrial land near Pond A of the SRP. 

A Singaporean manufacturing firm wants to buy a parcel situated near Barangay Pasil, which is pegged at P10,000 per square meter. 

But Filrich Holdings is still in the process of incorporating the company with local investors because the Philippine Constitution does not allow foreigners to fully own land and businesses in the country. 

“They are still incorporating and processing it with SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission). We can’t sell land to a foreign individual so they have to incorporate the company with investors, majority of which are Filipinos. If they will only lease, there is no problem but we wanted to sell the lot to improve our cash flow,” Fernandez told Sun.Star Cebu yesterday. 
“Until they are done with the incorporation, we will defer the publication,” he added. 

P2 billion 

The Singaporean firm, which wants to put up the “world’s first fully automated container manufacturing plant” in Cebu, would have wanted to release P2 billion for the property last April but there are procedures to follow. 

Also, City Hall still lacks the approval from the Commission on Audit (COA) for the sale of the 20-hectare portion. 

COA, however, already told CIPC to go ahead with the leasing of the 70-hectare portion of the SRP near Talisay City. 

CIPC Managing Director Joel Mari Yu, who met with Mayor Osmeña yesterday morning, said the mayor will instruct the Department of Engineering and Public Works (DEPW) to already begin the construction of the interior roads in the area. 

Three investors, one from the Mactan Economic Zone II, will lease about 14 hectares and build standard factory buildings and warehouses. 

In the next two to three months, the investors will be signing a lease contract with the City Government at 45 US cents per square meter or P26 per square meter for 25 years. 
Fluctuation 

Yu said they will peg the lease in dollars to protect the City from currency fluctuation. 

“So, even if through the years matumba ang peso dili ta maunsa because they pay us in dollars,” he told Sun.Star. 

COA, he said, approved the draft contract to lease because the lease rates are higher than what other export processing zones charge their tenants. Lease rates in MEZ 1 and 2 are lower than 45 US cents. 

COA also reportedly advised CIPC that there will be no need to bid out the lots for lease, unlike those that will be sold. (GAC) www.sunstar.com.ph

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Tomas: SRP to Accept Locators When It's Ready (June 2006)

By Ehda M. Dagooc
The Freeman 06/08/2006

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña said it doesn't really matter when the South Road Properties (SRP) could fully take off in terms of accommodating operational investments, what matters most is when it is ready, it would be something that Cebu can be proud of. 

"I don't serve the cake until it is baked. We have to do it correctly," said Cebu City Mayor Tomas R. Osmeña referring to the readiness of SRP to accommodate interested investors. 

"We are not going to open a make-shift development. It should be something that Cebu can be proud of," the Mayor added. 

According to Osmeña, marketing the 300-hectare SRP is not a problem for now, as long as there is a line up of interested investors who wanted to come. However, he said the Cebu City government is going to carefully choose what kind of projects will be prioritized for approval. 

"Big players will come first [wholesale investors]. We are very careful in attacking the heart of SRP," the Mayor said referring to the three huge investors like Bigfoot Group, whose proposal include a Yatch Club and a huge Movie Studio; the Filinvest Group that will develop a commercial project inside the SRP; and the Singaporean-company called Cebutainer Systems Corporation which needs 20-hectare for its facility. 

He said the internal road problems will be built shortly, as well as the installation of telecommunication infrastructure, among others, as soon as the huge investors will finally and formally agree to come in. 

"I am not a time-frame person. We have to do the lay-out of SRP very carefully," he reiterated. 

Cebu Investment and Promotion Center (CIPC) managing director Joel Mari S. Yu said the roads must be built first, power and water supply be put in place. 

At least six investors may start building their facilities at the 300-hectare South Road Properties (SRP) this year, as soon as the primary infrastructures will be immediately provided. 

The Cebu City government, the developer of SRP is now talking with 15 investors that expressed strong interest to locate at the SRP, but the property still has to complete the necessary infrastructure requirement like water supply, power, and roads, in order to accommodate these investors. 

Other interested investors include; Taiwanese firm Paul Yu Group of Companies; JY Construction; Arcenas Group; Pakna-an Central Development Corporation; an American company to build Cardiovascular Hospital, Mactan Rock Industries Corporation; Filinvest-to build a commercial center; Ayala Land; King Group of Companies; Japanese-owned Kurata company to construct a condominium facility; University of Cebu; and another Japanese company called Sonnette to build a retirement village for Japanese market.

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SRP Firms Can Avail of Tax Perks (June 2006)

Locators of the South Reclamation Project (SRP) will qualify for tax perks as the entire property has been registered with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) as a special economic zone (ecozone).

“This is what makes the SRP different from other reclamation projects. As long as the companies belong to industries that qualify for tax incentives (such as information technology, manufacturing and tourism), they will get the tax perks due them,” Cebu Investment Promotions Center (CIPC) managing director Joel Mari Yu said.

SRP is now considered a mixed land-use property from being a pure industrial-use zone. It can now accommodate companies with light manufacturing, commercial, tourism and information technology (IT) operations, among others.

Change

“We have explained the change to the Jbic (Japan Bank for International Cooperation). Times have changed. In 1992, when the loan was incurred, the Philippines was the premier destination for manufacturing companies. Now, manufacturing companies are going to China,” Yu told a press conference.

Businesses not allowed at the SRP include housing, heavy industries, gambling establishments and stand-alone golf course.

Even though some 10 local and foreign companies have already expressed intention to locate at the SRP, the CIPC continues to market the property outside the country, especially in Japan.

CIPC is the agency tasked to market the SRP.

Yu said CIPC has sought assistance from the Japanese Government through Jbic, the Japan External Trade Organization (Jetro) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

Developers

“The Japanese Government will provide us a consultant who will identify and arrange meetings for us with possible property developers in Japan while Jetro has included information on the SRP in their advisories worldwide,” he said.

CIPC also had discussions with Jurong Estates in Singapore.

Yu said the Singapore Government has committed to organize this year a forum in Singapore that will give Cebu the opportunity to present SRP to land developers in that country.

Similar forums will also be held in Hong Kong and Taiwan with the help of Philippine commercial attachés in the two countries.
On June 25 to 30, CIPC will be in Tokyo, Japan for an investment mission to promote the SRP to manufacturing, IT and retirement facility developers there.

“But we will proceed with the marketing only if the City (Government) starts constructing roads within the SRP,” Yu said.

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Incomplete SRP Infra Affects Marketing Blitz (June 2006)

By Ehda M. Dagooc
The Freeman 06/01/2006

At least six investors may start building their facilities at the 300-hectare South Road Properties (SRP) this year, as soon as the primary infrastructure will be immediately provided. 

Cebu Investment and Promotion Center (CIPC) managing director Joel Mari S. Yu said the roads must be built first, power and water supply must be put in place. 

The Cebu City government, the developer of SRP, is now talking with 15 investors that expressed interest in locating at the SRP, however the property still has to complete the necessary infrastructure requirement first, like water supply, power, and roads, in order to accommodate these investors. 

CIPC, which is commissioned by the Cebu City government to market the SRP both to local and foreign investors, still cannot fully start an aggressive marketing blitz for the property. 

Although the potential of SRP to attract investors is very strong, he said "right now, we have an incomplete product." 

According to Yu, the Visayan Electric Company (VECO) had informally agreed to provide power supply at SRP, but the City government and the Aboitiz Group still has to finalize the contract, and VECO is still on the process of applying a petition to Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC). 

These 15 interested investors will have to occupy close to 80 hectares of the entire SRP, the two largest lot takers include a Singaporean-company called Cebutainer Systems Corporation which needs 20-hectare for its facility, and the Bigfoot Group, which also proposed to build a commercial center, and a Yatch Club or Marina, and also need 20-hectare land cut. 

Other interested investors include; Taiwanese firm Paul Yu Group of Companies; JY Construction; Arcenas Group; Pakna-an Central Development Corporation; an American company to build Cardiovascular Hospital, Mactan Rock Industries Corporation; Filinvest-to build a commercial center; Ayala Land; King Group of Companies; Japanese-owned Kurata company to construct a condominium facility; University of Cebu; and another Japanese company called Sonnette to build a retirement village for Japanese market. 

According to Yu, the issue on land title has been settled already, with special patent, and is "alienable and disposable." 

Other concerns that need to be given immediate attention by the Cebu City government is to appoint a professional property manager, to manage the entire area, which has already been declared as an Special Economic Zone (SEZ) by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA). 

"The interest is strong, but we have to put in place first a lot of concerns, before we could take off our national and international marketing blitz," Yu said in a press conference yesterday. 

Yu dismissed impressions that SRP, through the Cebu City government cannot pay its loan obligation to Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP), now at P6 billion, saying that as soon as the locators will start operating, the SRP will be making a lot of money, not only for the lease and lot revenues, but for the concession fees of providers like power, water, telecommunication, among others. 

"We are going to make a lot of money. The important thing is getting the locators in," he stressed. 

Initial marketing promotions were done by CIPC in last couple of years, these include promoting the property to the Japanese government through Japan External Trade Organization (Jetro), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA); closer linkage with Singapore Enterprise, and key government and private sector organizations in other countries like Hong Kong, Taiwan China, among others.

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Inayawan Landfill’s Biogas to Power SRP Air-con Supply (May 2006)

By Doris C. Bongcac
Last updated 09:33am (Mla time) 05/31/2006

An accumulating pocket of methane gas underneath Cebu City Inayawan landfill would soon be put to effective use.

City Hall plans to power a centralized air-conditioning system at the legislative building and offices within the South Road Projects (SRP) using methane gas from the landfill.

The project would be realized once Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña gets to commission a team of retired US Navy personnel to help design the system.

“We are getting retired US Navy personnel because they are among the best in the world,” he said.

Philbio, the group’s firm, is helping the city government produce energy from biogas generated by decaying garbage. Osmeña said he met one of the US navy experts through a friend when they were still based in Guam.

The group is now staying in Manila. Osmeña said he is leaving for Manila on Wednesday to meet with them.

“We will evaluate what they tell us. They asked me for a building plan, which they wanted to study,” he said.

The US navy team, he said, also set up the air-conditioning system of five SM malls in Luzon, which resulted in a savings of 22 percent to 25 percent in electricity for the company.

For such a project in City Hall, Osmeña said he is willing to buy brand new air-conditioning units.

“In putting up an air-conditioning unit, you don’t think of the cost of the equipment but the cost of its operation that is more critical,” he said.

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