Cebu Daily News
Cebu City, Philippines - Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña plans to acquire the services of an internationally renowned urban planner and design specialist to help in the city's urban planning and the design of the South Road Properties (SRP).
But Osmeña said it would take a little while before he will be able to ink a consultancy contract with Felino Palafox Jr. He did not elaborate why.
Palafox is the founder of the Palafox and Associates that is known for their architecture, interior design, urban and master planning and landscape architecture.
The design of the proposed Mandaue City Boardwalk, SM South Mall and the Cebu Business Park are among their numerous works.
“We plan to hire Jun Palafox for consultancy, as a consultant for urban planning,” Osmeña said in a media forum on Tuesday at the Marco Polo Hotel.
Osmeña said he was able to work with Palafox and four other consultants in 1995. They did a year-long study on the viability of the proposed Cordova Reclamation Project on behalf of the Lopez Group.
While Palafox is an internationally known design and urban planning expert, Osmeña said he also had to travel abroad to attend waterfront and tourism development conferences and observe the design of tourists destinations in Hawaii, Saipan and Phuket among others.
Because of their exposure together, Osmeña said, “many of the inputs in the SRP has his (Palafox's) background and my exposure to tourism and background of what they have in the different parts of the world.”
Osmeña said the city government needed Palafox’s expertise.
Recently, Osmeña met with representatives from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to solicit their technical assistance especially in the marketing of the 300-hectare reclamation project to Japanese investors.
City Planning and Development Officer Nigel Paul Villarete said in an earlier interview that they were awaiting a formal proposal from JBIC on how to go about the implementation of their marketing strategies.
Villarete said JBIC had always extended free technical assistance to countries where they had projects.
Osmeña said he wanted to make sure that the SRP is properly cared for because it is the “future” of the city.
“Cebu City now has the ability to control its destiny (because of the project income that will be derived from the SRP). We are near to being financially self-reliant,” he said.
Osmeña said that while the city government incurred billions of debts from the SRP, it was also expected to raise revenues that would augment whatever it was that the city government raised from taxes.
The city government now operates on a P2-billion annual budget. Of the allocation, at least 25 percent goes to projects, while another 25 percent is allocated for debt servicing.
He said the remaining 50 percent of the city's annual budget is spent for personnel services and maintenance and other operating expenses. /Reporter Doris C. Bongcac
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Monday, June 18, 2007
Sun.Star
SOUTH Road Properties (SRP) plan to sell excess water from the Cebu City south reclamation area to the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD).
“If we have extra water we may sell it to MCWD,” said Joel Mari Yu, Cebu Investment Promotions Center (CIPC) managing director and in-charge of marketing the 300-hectare SRP.
Yu made the announcement following SRP’s acquisition of two water treatment facilities to supply water to its locators.
He said one treatment plant will recycle wastewater while the other one will convert seawater through desalination to produce potable water.
Water is not going to be a problem in SRP, Yu said. “We can sell water to MCWD if we need to,” he added.
Should the entire SRP be filled with locators, the area is projected to use some 20,000 to 25,000 cubic meters of water per day. Of the total demand, about 30 percent will be for potable water while other uses can tap recycled water.
Yu said this belie rumors that SRP is experiencing water problems.
Although he acknowledged that Cebu City is having water shortage concerns, “the case is different with SRP.”
“The whole of Cebu, the impression is, there is a water problem. But, investors do not have to worry about this because, there are already cheaper sources because of the advent of water technology,” Yu said.
With regard to Metro Cebu’s water problem, Yu said MCWD has to find other sources apart from the Carmen Bulk Water Supply Project proposed by the Ayala-led consortium.
“There are now other sources of water. Most companies right now are using recycled water technology, or desalination process to cut cost on water bills,” he said in an interview.
Yu cited Mactan Economic Zones 1 and 2 that source about 60 percent of their water requirement —except for drinking— from recycling facilities.
SM City Cebu is also using desalination for its water supply to cut its water bills.
Yu said cost of desalinated water has become competitive with conventional water supply. (MMM)
Friday, June 15, 2007
The Freeman
Financial assistance for senior citizens, better tax collection, more school buildings and the promotion of the South Road Properties will be the priorities of Mayor Tomas Osmeña for the next three years.
Osmeña said he intends to allocate P50 million as financial subsidy for senior citizens who are residents and voters of Cebu City.
By next year, the mayor said that senior citizens could already start receiving at least P2,000 a year from City Hall-P1,000 during Christmas and another P1,000 during their birthday.
At present, a team is already formulating the guidelines for the claiming of such benefits and the mayor stressed that only senior citizens who are residents and voters of Cebu City are entitled to such benefits. Programs for senior citizens have always been among the priorities of the mayor. In fact, a Senior Citizens Center has been constructed at the South Road Properties.
Osmeña said the city government will also start bidding the 30-hectare portion of the SRP near barangay Mambaling.
There are already ongoing negotiations for the area but while these are not yet final, the city is doing “cosmetic” work there such as the construction of a fence.
Osmeña said an investor has already offered to buy the property for P2 billion but the city has not made a decision on the proposal yet. The 30-hectare property is being sold at P7,000 to P13,000 per square meter or around P2 to 4 billion. The mayor said the city is still open for other offers.
Another priority project of the city government is the construction of more school buildings. The mayor said that the city has P30 million unprogrammed funds from Malacañang, surplus from last year and from the pork barrel of the mayor’s brother, Senator Sergio Osmeña III. The mayor said these funds will be used for the construction of additional classrooms for the different schools in the city.
The mayor said that the thrusts of the city government remains the same but “we’re always looking for changes because we want to get better.”
He said that there would be more changes in the internal operations in the City Hall, which include plans to make tax collection more effective. — Wenna A. Berondo/QSB
By Ehda M. Dagooc
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Amid the looming water supply problem in Cebu, future locators of the South Road Properties (SRP) have nothing to worry about as the Cebu City government acquired two water treatment facilities for the locators’ water requirement.
In fact, the Cebu Investment Promotions Center (CIPC) managing director Joel Mari S. Yu said water supply is not going to be a problem at SRP, they could even sell extra supply to the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) if they need to.
CIPC is commissioned by the Cebu City government in marketing the 300-hectare SRP.
SRP now has one treatment facility to recycle waste water and another machine that will convert sea water into potable water through desalination process.
Yu said the city government never intended to buy water from MCWD and water supply will never be a cause of concern among interested investors.
SRP is projected to need about 20,000 to 25,000 cubic meters a day if it’s already fully occupied with locators.
Locators will only need about 30 percent potable water, while the rest can be sourced via recycled water.
As for the water problem in Cebu, Yu said MCWD will have to look for other sources, aside from the Ayala consortium offer.
However, he said water problem in Cebu is not as bad as projected because big investors are now currently using other sources of water instead of getting their supply from MCWD.
At the Mactan Export Zone (MEZ1 and 2) for instance, Yu said 60 percent of the water requirement is used for flushing toilet, among other uses, aside from drinking.
“There are now other sources of water supply. Most companies right now are using recycled water technology, or desalination process to cut cost on water bills,” Yu said.
Currently, there is a huge impression that the whole of Cebu is suffering from water shortage. But with the advent of water technology, water recycling for one, investors do not have to worry about water shortage anymore.
Early this year, SM City Cebu adopted the water desalination technology for its water requirement, in order to cut cost on water bills.
“As a big water consumer, we might as well help the community by not depriving them of water supply, so we are using sea water processed through desalination,” said SM City Cebu mall manager Sherry Tuvilla.
By using alternative water supply source, Tuvilla said SM City is expected to save 10 percent of its average P2 million monthly water bills.
In the past, water desalination was not popularly adopted by some big companies and establishments in the Philippines, because of high cost of processing.
However, with improved technology in water, this has become a cheaper alternative for big water consumers, such as manufacturing plants, mall establishments, hotels, among others.
Reportedly, cost of desalinated water has become competitive, and even cheaper than the conventional water supply.
The Freeman
Friday, June 1, 2007
There is no stopping the city government from selling the 254-hectare South Road Properties.
Mayor Tomas Osmeña yesterday revealed that the city government will soon bid out 30 hectares of the SRP located in the Mambaling area.
He said the 30-hectare area that is now being negotiated with investors is already cleared and presently undergoing cosmetic jobs like concreting of the fence that will separate it from Mambaling so that the investors at the SRP will not see the urban poor.
The mayor said a certain investor has 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 minimum of P7,000 to P13,000 per square meter or around P2 billion to P4 billion for all 30 hectares.
“Hopefully whoever will buy it would do something with it,” Osmeña said.
The mayor said that yesterday morning, he received a phone call from Bigfoot Entertainment asking if they could have one more hectare for their studio expansion.
Last May 8, Bigfoot Entertainment signaled the start of their multi-million expansion project at the controversial facility through a groundbreaking ceremony.
Bigfoot’s two-hectare property at the SRP will house state-of-the-art filmmaking facilities that will be at par with the famous film outfits such as Universal Studios and Warner Brothers Studios.
“Bigfoot is very keen on building their studio beside Pond A. They leased two hectares, now they want the third hectare immediately. They want to expand it, no problem,” the mayor said.
Osmeña also said that he was supposed to meet with Bigfoot and Filinvest last night but the meeting was rescheduled to next week. He added that there is possibility for joint venture between Filinvest, Bigfoot and the city government for the construction of a high-end commercial multi-purpose complex.
At present, he said that Filinvest has hired architects to do the presentation of their plan.
“We are monitoring the real estate market, which is very good at this time. If real estate market is good, even if you are a lousy developer you will make money. But the real estate market now is hot, this is very timely to sell SRP,” he said.
By selling the property, he explained that the city will earn money aside from tax collections and its share of the Internal Revenue Allotment.
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 has still a remaining balance of P6.3 billion in 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 payable in 20 years
Despite the recent issues that are hounding his multi-billion pet project, the mayor said that he does not foresee SRP to be a problem at all. Likewise, he wants the people to know every development in the property because the owners of the property are the people of Cebu.
He said that the only problem with SRP is that it is very risky because it so big.
“Price is not everything, especially for us. SRP is 25 years to pay. It’s not to pay it in Christmas time. We have to give away 10 hectares, 20 hectares a year at 80 percent discount...we can pay that P500 million a year,” Osmeña said.
He said that aside from the revenues that the SRP will provide the city, it would also create jobs, improve economy, and make Cebu City competitive with other cities. “If the Japanese Embassy comes to Cebu, I’ll not charge them, I’ll even pay them,” he said, adding that SRP would bring lots of benefits to Cebu. — Wenna A. Berondo/BRP
Sun.Star
Friday, June 01, 2007
AFTER doing a “cosmetic job” at the South Road Properties (SRP), the Cebu City Government will bid out a 30-hectare lot there to raise the P500 million needed for debt servicing this year.
Mayor Tomas Osmeña said yesterday the 30 hectares will yield more than enough to cover the City’s loan payment for 2007, if sold for at least P7,000 per square meter.
Lots at the SRP can be sold for as much as P14,000 per square meter, and can raise up to P4.2 billion from the 30-hectare property alone, he said.
The City has already paid some P250 million to the Japan Bank for International Cooperation for its SRP loan last February, and is scheduled to make its second and last payment for this year in August, for the same amount.
“That will give us P2 billion if sold at P7,000 per square, or P4 billion if sold at P14,000 per square meter, and P500 million is nothing. That’s why I’ve been saying this is a good project; it’s only risky because it’s a very big project,” Osmeña told reporters.
He is optimistic that developers who have expressed interest to buy land at the SRP will join the bidding, including SM Prime Holdings Inc., Bigfoot Global Solutions, Filinvest and Robinsons Land.
But before the City holds the bidding, the mayor wants to finish a cosmetic job at the SRP and get rid of some eyesores.
“We’re going to bid it out soon but we’ll finish the cosmetic job first. It’s just a concrete fence that will separate the SRP from Mambaling so they will not see any Badjaos and urban poor areas there,” Osmeña said in a news conference at his residence.
It was the mayor’s first press conference since he filed his certificate of candidacy last March 27 and after he had a post-angiogram operation to repair a vein on his upper right thigh last week.
As advised by his doctors, Osmeña will continue to do his paperwork and hold meetings at home until his wound completely heals, to avoid an infection and other complications.
He expects to be back at City Hall in a week’s time.
Also yesterday, the mayor announced the plan for the City to enter into a joint venture with Filinvest and Bigfoot in developing a high-end residential and multi-purpose complex with an international yacht club.
Osmeña believes it is a good time to undertake such kind of development because the real estate market in Cebu is doing well.
“Whatever the joint venture will be, we have to raise P500 million this year to take care of our debt service. I don’t foresee that it’s going to be a problem because we can raise that. The most important consideration we should monitor is the real estate market, which is very good. The market here is very hot,” he added.
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