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Monday, July 28, 2003
Mandaue reclamation project shelved
By ROSE O. VERSOZA
Sun.Star Staff Reporter
THE Mandaue City Government had hoped to acquire more reclaimed lands at no cost when it entered into a contract of reclamation for the 295 hectares of submerged and foreshore lands in the city’s northern part on March 29, 2001.
It has been two years since then, but the Mandaue North Reclamation Project (MNRP) has yet to take off.
Mayor Thadeo Ouano said Saturday that the MNRP is temporarily shelved. Like all other reclamation projects in the country, the MNRP was affected by the Supreme Court decision on the Amari land deal in Manila prohibiting foreigners or foreign corporations from acquiring ownership of lands in the country, Ouano said.
He added that the foreign partners of the Mandaue Land Consortium (MLC), which was tasked to handle the reclamation project, now hesitate to pursue the project because based on that SC decision, they will no longer be entitled to their share in the reclaimed land. This means they cannot recover their investment in the project.
Just as with the existing reclamation area at the southwestern portion of Mandaue City, the developer will undertake and finance the reclamation project at no cost to the City Government.
The MNRP will cost P14.9 billion and take about six years to complete. Its area covers the foreshore and submerged lands from the foot of the Marcelo Fernan Bridge to Barangay Jagobiao.
MLC will be paid through portions of the reclaimed land at a sharing percentage of 22 percent for the City and 78 percent for MLC.
Of the 295 hectares of reclaimed land, 88.5 hectares will be allocated for roads and parks. The remaining 206.5 hectares will be divided between MLC and Mandaue City, who will get around 161.07 hectares and 45.43 hectares, respectively.
MLC is a joint venture of DM Wenceslao & Associates Inc. and Belgian firm Jan de Nul.
“If we can look for other Filipino companies that are willing to make a P14 billion investment on the MNRP, then we will give the project to them. But I doubt whether we can find a Filipino who would want to make such a huge amount of investment,” said Ouano.
He said even F.F. Cruz and Co., which developed the existing Mandaue reclamation area, is not even interested to undertake the MNRP.
Ouano said the MNRP is an opportunity for Mandaue City to generate income, revenues and employment. Its non-implementation results to the loss of such opportunity.
But Ouano said he does not want to apply for a loan to finance the project because of the high risk involved. He does not want Mandaue City to be encumbered with loan payments like what is happening to Cebu City with its South Reclamation Project.
If there’s need to give the project to another developer, the City Government will still not spend a single centavo, and it will still adopt the same sharing scheme agreed upon in its contract with MLC, Ouano said.
“I don’t want my grandchild to pay for it when there’s not even an assurance that it can be sold at all,” said Ouano.
So until the City Government cannot find other interested developers, the contract with MLC will remain unimplemented and the project on hold.
City Administrator Serafin Blanco said the City Government is still looking at the legal implication of the contract with MLC. The City, though, does not intend to rescind the contract until it is assured that new investors are willing to take up the project, he said.
But despite the suspension of the project, the City Government is still working for the reclassification of the foreshore and submerged area covered by the proposed MNRP into an alienable and disposable land, the mayor said.
The reclassification will allow the City to dispose of such property.
Blanco also said that even if the MNRP will not be implemented, the City Government will pursue its plan to transfer the City’s dumpsite in Barangay Umapad to another location.
The plan was conceived because the MNRP contract provides that upon the execution of the contract, the City will “cease to further use” the dumpsite, which is situated within the MNRP area. It further states that the dumpsite should be gone in 36 months or three years from the commencement of the project. |
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