CH officials insist South Road Properties should be demand-driven, to meet with consultants

Thursday, December 18, 2008

CEBU City officials will meet with Asian Development Bank (ADB) consultants today to clarify its requirement of a development framework or master plan for the South Road Properties (SRP).

City Administrator Francisco Fernandez said that Mayor-on-leave Tomas Osmeña reiterated yesterday his stance that the 302-hectare SRP will be demand-driven and will respond to the needs of the market, and would not be tied down by a master plan.



He said he was also surprised by the Japan International Cooperation Agency’s (Jica) request for a master plan because it has already agreed that the City Government will only provide “a master plan that is more of a vision, and not a detailed and rigid master plan.”

The official said that the shift from an industrial and light manufacturing export zone to a mixed land use project is acceptable to Jica.

Clarification

Fernandez, who has just reported back to work after a one-week leave, was asked by the mayor yesterday for feedback and recommendations based on the result of today’s meeting.

“We will clarify several things with them tomorrow. Are they going to be firm in their request for a master plan? And what do they exactly mean when they asked for a master plan?” he said yesterday.

Consultants of the ADB-Cities Development Initiative for Asia (CDIA) asked city officials for a master plan or development framework plan on the SRP, which they said they will need so they can proceed with pre-feasibility studies on the utilities and infrastructure needed at the SRP.

“I think it has to be clearly pointed out to them that they are our consultants. They don’t make decisions. As consultants, they’re supposed to give us their good and bad thoughts and we will decide accordingly. Their recommendations have to be mutually accepted,” Fernandez said.

Acting Mayor Michael Rama, City Planning and Development Coordinator Nigel Paul Villarete, Fernandez and other city officials will meet with the ADB consultants this morning.

Technical aid

During the workshop on CDIA’s Priority Infrastructure Investment Plan (PIIP) for the SRP last week, a Jica representative also asked for a master plan of the mixed land use project, which they will submit to the JICA board, along with a proposal for technical assistance for the utilities.

“I’m a little bit surprised about Jica’s request for a master plan because last July, we thought we came to terms that the Manila office had to present to the Jica headquarters the changes happening in the Philippines, a new master plan in quotation marks. We agreed that it cannot be a rigid plan,” said Fernandez.

The Jica representative said the City already presented a plan before the loan agreement was approved, but the plan was for an export zone for light manufacturing firms. “The original purpose of the SRP was for industries and manufacturing firms but that is no longer what the market needs. And the shift to a mixed land use was acceptable to the JICA head in Manila. They fully understand that the realities have changed,” Fernandez added. (LCR)