Tomas to keep South Road Properties lot negotiations hush-hush

The Freeman
Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Mayor Tomas Osmeña will no longer reveal details of his negotiations with potential investors at the South Road Properties after some investors reportedly criticized him for revealing details of their negotiations.

Osmeña, who said he respects the wishes of potential investors, yesterday explained that he revealed details of negotiations to the public because he only wanted to be transparent just like the way he is running City Hall.

The mayor, however, told reporters that there are five potential investors who want to purchase the 30-heactare part of the SRP at the Mambaling side. The city would soon bid out the 30-hectare area.

“There are at least five interested bidders but I can’t give you the details because I was criticized by investors for talking about our negotiations. But I was just transparent,” Osmeña said.

There are also investors who want the other portions of the 300-hectare facility but Osmeña said that the city would prioritize the sale of the 30-hectare portion, saying the city would be very liberal on its first sale.

Earlier, the mayor said that there is a certain investor who offered to buy the lot for P2 billion but while the city has not decided on it, the lot is still open for other offers. He said that the lot will be sold at a minimum of P7,000 to P13,000 per square meter or around P2 billion to P4 billion for all 30 hectares.

“Our first sale would be very liberal, so now is the best time to make a deal,” he said.

He reiterated that the city is aggressive in selling the SRP because it needs to have extra income aside from traditional sources to meet its liquidity requirement for the next few years.

Osmeña earlier said that the city needs to raise P500 million this year to take care of the city’s debts for its loan from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation for the funds it spent in developing the SRP.

The city government still has a remaining balance of P6.3 billion on its loan with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation as part of the 12.292 billion yen it borrowed from the bank to build the SRP. The loan is payable in 20 years. - Wenna A. Berondo/QSB