Government holds development of Tokyo property

The government has put on hold the development of its 2,489-square meter property in Nampeidai in Tokyo, Japan amid legal issues among members of the Japanese consortium that won in the bidding for the project.

Finance Secretary Margarito Teves said yesterday the Nampeidai project is now on hold after a Pasay City regional trial court issued an injunction.

“A trial court has issued an injunction preventing further government action on the matter until the resolution of a private dispute between members of the Nagayama-Taisei consortium that had won the bidding,” Teves said yesterday.

In 2006, the consortium won in the bidding to develop the four-storey building. The group plans to construct a building on the property worth ¥1.7 billion.

According to the government’s plan, roughly 20 percent of the building would be reserved for the exclusive use of the government, specifically to house the Philippine consulate.

The duration of the development and lease agreement is 50 years.

Members of the consortium, however, could not agree who among them would represent the whole group.

The Nampeidai property was one of the three pieces of Philippine property in Japan that has been offered to investors under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) scheme.

The government has already signed a 50-year service development agreements with Berg Co. Ltd for the 764.7 square meter property in Naniwa-Cho with a net present value of ¥759.3 million and the 3,014.87-square-meter Obanoyama property worth ¥449.6 million in Kobe, Japan.

Berg would spend ¥827.9 million and ¥490.2 million in development fees for the Naniwa-Cho and Obanoyama properties, respectively.

Finance officials said the government would like to settle first the dispute concerning the Nampeidai property before proceeding with the sale of other properties in Japan.

Aside from the Nampeidai project, the government also plans to dispose of the 4,361.85-square meter property in the commercial and residential district of Fujimi-cho, Chiyoda-ku in Tokyo, Japan through a build-operate-transfer scheme covering a lease of 50 years.

The property houses the official residence of the Philippine ambassador to Japan.

The sale of government properties in Japan is part of efforts to raise revenues. Last year, the government has so far raised P90 billion from the sale of state-owned assets.