Monday, June 17, 2013
CEBU -- Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama plans to sell lots from the 302-hectare South Road Properties (SRP) in the second term of his administration, which will start at noon on June 30.
With the onset of the rainy season, the mayor wants to use the revenues from the sale to implement the City Government’s comprehensive drainage master plan, among others.
Initially, the drainage master plan was projected to cost P550 million but that has ballooned to P2.8 billion (not P2.4 billion as earlier reported), based on the revised estimates made in 2012 by the Flood Mitigation and Drainage Task Force formed by the mayor.
Rama said the sale of some SRP lots will allow the City to achieve something it has needed for a long time, “readiness to address and respond (to flood).”
“In the days to come, I wish di maigo ang mga balay sa mga councilors sa baha usa pa sila maka-hunahuna nga kinahanglan nang mamaligya kay di mahimong di tubagon ang dakong problema sa Sugbo (In the days to come, I wish the councilors won’t wait for floods to reach their houses before they realize we need to sell some lots, because we cannot let this serious problem go unsolved),” he added.
Flooding in Subangdaku, Mandaue City, Cebu
SWAMPED. A flood stalls traffic in Subangdaku, Mandaue City, now a common sight in Metro Cebu after a downpour. (Sun.Star Cebu Photo/Alex Badayos)
Help
Rama said he is optimistic he can sell SRP lots this time, even if the majority of the City Council is still dominated by the Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK).
“Kinahanglan lang naa’y motabang aron ang ilang kasing-kasing malumo ug ang ilang utok ug alimpatakan di na mogahi (All we need is some help so that they will not harden their hearts and close their minds),” he said.
Of the P2.8-billion projected cost of implementing the drainage master plan, about P2.5 billion will pay for the construction of flood control infrastructure projects.
These include rainwater tanks (P60 million), infiltration beds (P38.5 million), detention basins or mini-dams (P64.5 million), improvement and clearing of channels and waterways (P1.8-billion), drainage improvement and installation of new drainage trunks (P414 million), and desilting projects (P77 million).
Road lots
Other items to be funded include road-right-of-way acquisition (P343.1 million); a public education and participation program such as policy issuances, ordinance mapping, and surveys (P19.5 million); and a policy support program for the effective enforcement of laws and ordinances (P18 million).
Sought for comment about Mayor Rama’s pronouncement, Councilor Margarita Osmeña, chairperson of the council’s committee on budget and finance, said she would like the mayor to present his plans for the SRP first.
Rama said he will lay down what he wants to do with the SRP when he makes his inaugural address on July 1.
“Then we will wait and listen. Cooperation goes both ways,” Osmeña said.
In his first term, Rama had wanted to sell lots at the SRP to fund his projects. He said the Cebu Investment Promotions Center, the marketing arm of the SRP, has already designated lots that can be sold.
He was referring to the 12 parcels of lots beside the development of the SM Prime Holdings Inc., with land areas ranging from 2,300 to 3,000 square meters.
However, the council had opposed Rama’s plan, saying that the SRP should be sold only when SM and Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) have erected their buildings in the area.
Higher
This way, the City can increase the selling price of the property from P30,000 per square meter to about P40,000.
FLI is the first investor at the SRP and owns the 10.6-hectare beachfront lots in the area. It is also developing a 40-hectare area under a joint venture with the City.
SM, the second investor at the SRP, is building what will be the biggest shopping mall in the Visayas and Mindanao in its 30-hectare property. It also intends to build a convention center, hotel and residential condominiums, among others.
Aside from funding the comprehensive drainage master plan, Rama said he wants to use the sale proceeds to pay for reblocking projects, buy firefighting equipment, beautify the coastal area, and widen city roads. (Sun.Star Cebu)
source:
Cebu City Mayor Mike Rama
Rama’s plan for new term: Sell SRP lots to halt floods
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