'City to get share of Filinvest's dev't' (South Road Properties)
By Chris Ligan
Cebu Daily News
First Posted 15:25:00 09/30/2008
CEBU CITY, Philippines - Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmena on Monday assured that the joint-venture agreement it may enter into with Filinvest Development Corp. over the South Road Properties (SRP) would be advantageous to the city.
Osmena said that whether Filinvest sells or rents out property that it develops in the SRP, the city gets a share of revenues.
Under the joint venture agreement, for any property that Filinvest sells in the SRP, the city gets a fraction of gross sales based on the phase of Filinvest's development. For phase 1, the city gets a 20-percent share. The share increases to 30 percent in phase 2, 40 percent in phase 3, and 50 percent in phase 4.
For properties that Filinvest rents out, the city will get a fixed 10-percent share of rental fees.
Osmena said that under Filinvest's P80-billion development plan, the company will develop at least 40 hectares of land at the SRP. The land is the city government's counterpart in the joint-venture agreement with Filinvest, while the company puts up residential condominiums, commercial complexes and office buildings, among others.
In addition, Filinvest will also buy additional properties in the SRP worth at P2 billion, amounting to 10 to 12 hectares, depending on the area's location. Seaside lots cost P11,000 per square meter, while inner lots cost P8,000 per square meter.
The mayor said he expected the economic development at the SRP to increase once Filinvest completes its P80-billion project. The mayor said this would increase employment in the city.
VIP treatment
The mayor said he envisions the SRP to be the “second home” of the country's wealthy.
He said he would make it easy for the rich to live in the reclaimed land, like putting up a transport system that would make it unnecessary for those living at the SRP to buy cars or hire drivers.
Occupants of the SRP would also have an easier time going to key areas of the metropolis, such as the airport.
Osmena said he would put up a bus service that would provide easy transport between the SRP and the Mactan Cebu International Airport. This bus service will be given priority on city streets and provided with police escorts that would allow them to bypass heavy traffic.