City targets two more South Road Properties deals before December

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña is optimistic that the city government can close substantial deals with two more investors within the year for the South Road Properties.

While he refused to name these investors, the mayor claimed they are among the top ten largest real estate developers in the country.

“Aside from Filinvest, I am expecting to make two more deals within the year. But as to when are we going to be paid, I don’t know. You know the government’s bureaucratic red tape,” Osmeña said in a news conference yesterday.

Osmeña’s statement was confirmed by Joel Mari Yu, managing director of Cebu Investment and Promotion Center, the SRP’s marketing arm.

Yu said one investor proposed to develop a medical-tourism business while the other plans to develop an entertainment center, a shopping mall, condominiums, and an information technology center.

“Yes, that’s true. But as of now, I am not at the liberty to divulge the names of these companies. It is for the mayor to say it,” Yu said in a separate interview with The FREEMAN.

Osmeña earlier explained that as much as he wanted to be transparent about the negotiations on the sale of the SRP, he could not reveal the details because it might create a misunderstanding because the investors had asked him not to talk about it.

Recently, the Filinvest Land Inc., one of the largest real estate companies in the Philippines, submitted its proposal to the city for the “outright purchase” of 10-hectare lot worth P2 billion and another joint venture agreement of the remaining 40 hectare of lot which will house high-rise buildings and condominiums. The offer got a positive response from the mayor and the city officials.

Osmeña said that as of now, no investor has tried to compete with FLI’s offer.

Aside from the two other prospective investors that the city hopes to close deal with within this year, he said the city has also received offers from other buyers who eye different portions of the 295-hectare property. — Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon/WAB