Acting mayor signs notice of award to FLI; council to review contract (South Road Properties)
CEBU City Acting Mayor Michael Rama signed yesterday the notice of award of the joint venture contract with Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI), but it will take at least one week before he is authorized to sign the agreement.
The Joint Venture Selection Committee (JVSC) endorsed to the City Council secretariat yesterday a copy of the draft contract on the joint venture project with FLI.
City Administrator Francisco Fernandez, chairman of the JVSC, said he also wrote the secretariat requesting the council to pass a resolution authorizing the mayor to sign a contract with FLI for a joint venture to develop a 50-hectare portion of the South Road Properties (SRP).
The matter will be tackled in tomorrow’s regular session, but he does not expect the council to approve it immediately, as it will still have to be reviewed by the council’s committee on laws.
In a phone interview yesterday, Rama said the city council knows that the joint venture project is an urgent matter, but he hopes they will also be reminded of the need for transparency.
He said it will be up to the council to take their time in reviewing the contract if they have to, saying he does not want to pressure the council into passing a resolution authorizing him to sign it.
“I don’t want to pressure the councilors. They know there is an urgency to this, but I hope they will not be pressured by that. Whatever it is, we have to be mindful of the importance of transparency,” Rama told Sun.Star Cebu.
Last Friday, the JVSC approved the notice of award of the contract to FLI, which will construct 875,000 square meters of building space in a hotel, high-rise condominiums, office buildings and medium-rise residential buildings spread across 50.6 hectares of land at the South Road Properties.
The P25-billion project will earn for the City some P350 million next month, and P250 million a year for six years as payment for the 10.6-hectare lot that FLI will purchase.
Another revenue source would be the City’s 10-percent share from the sale of properties in the remaining 40-hectare area, plus an undisclosed minimum guarantee.
Fernandez said yesterday said that depending on the council’s deliberation tomorrow, a special session may be called to discuss the joint venture contract.
“The contract will still be referred to the committee on laws. There might be a special session but that is the protocol; that it has to be studied by a committee. So I’m sure that it cannot be approved on Wednesday,” he said last night. (LCR)