CIPC to sell 28 hectares of South Road Properties

Sun.Star
Thursday, May 10, 2007

IMMEDIATELY after the elections, the 28-hectare lot 1 area of the South Road Properties (SRP) will be bid out and sold to potential investors.

This was announced by Joel Mari Yu, Cebu Investment and Promotions Center (CIPC) executive director, in a press interview during the ground-breaking ceremonies of Big-foot Entertainment at the SRP last Tuesday.



CIPC is the marketing arm of the 295-hectare SRP.

“It’s a bid for sale, and not lease,” Yu said in an interview.

The SRP management, he said, is looking at a minimum value price of P10,000 per square meter, which means the entire area will cost P2.8 billion.

He said this early, business tycoons are eyeing the prime lot. Yu said both the Sy-led SM Group and the Gokongwei-led Robinsons Group are among those showing great interest to bid for the property. The list is followed by Filinvest, the Ayala Group and Megaworld.

Megaworld is another leading property developer in the country, he added.

Yu said the successful bid out of the 28-hectare property will mean the City Government will not necessary sell the other lots.

“If that is at P2.8 billion, we can already pay half of the balance loan which means other areas can be put up for lease,” he said.

Earlier, SM Prime Holdings Inc. offered to undertake a joint venture with the City Government in developing the entire SRP.
Obligation

In its multi-billion-peso proposal, SM said it also wants to take full obligation of paying the balance of Cebu City Hall’s P6.3-billion loan with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation.

But Yu said the mayor has declined to accept SM’s proposal but will instead provide them a “big chunk,” depending on the detailed financial package submitted.

Based on the proposal it presented to the CIPC, SM wants to build a mall, information technology buildings, residential condominiums and hotels at the SRP.

In a separate interview, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña is optimistic the entire SRP will undergo fast development in the next three years, contrary to negative speculations that land value will go down.

He said the price of SRP lots will not go down but will instead double in the next few years.

“Everybody likes SRP because of its strategic location. It’s the gateway to the south,” Osmeña said.

Other investors that showed earlier interest to locate at the SRP include Taiwanese firm Paul Yu Group of Companies, JY Construction, Arcenas Group, Pakna-an Central Development Corp., Mactan Rock Industries Corp., King Group of Companies and the University of Cebu.

Integrated

Osmeña said the City Government, the developer of SRP, wants an integrated development for the reclaimed property that includes hospitals, hotels, offices, call centers, business process outsourcing companies and restaurants.

Bigfoot Entertainment, which will lease a two-hectare property at the SRP for 20 years, plans to put up a development similar to Hollywood, USA, complete with restaurants, boutiques and sidewalk shops.

Bigfoot’s soundstage facility will be 4,800 square meters or four times bigger than the 1,200-square-meter (not 370 square meters as earlier reported) facility in Bigfoot Lapu-Lapu City.