CEBU, Philippines - Despite the barrage of criticisms from political rivals on Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña’s alleged “mismanagement” of the South Road Properties, the Cebu Investment and Promotions Center responds to the allegations with updates on investments at the SRP.
CIPC, the marketing arm of SRP, led by its managing director Joel Mari Yu said there will be more exciting developments at the SRP, one of which is the upcoming water sports recreational facility.
Yu said the City government is now on the final stages of negotiations with a well-known developer to set up a water sports facility at the SRP. Yu, however, stopped short of revealing further details of the transaction as talks are still ongoing.
“We cannot reveal the names of the developer but we are talking to them right now and they have shown interest to develop Pond A,” Yu said.
Yu said the planned water sports facility will feature wake boarding activities. The facility will occupy 15 hectares in Pond A, a lake spanning 60-hectares located at the SRP.
“It will really give more charm for SRP. A water sports facility will also be an exciting development in that area,” he stressed.
On the other hand, Yu revealed that SRP now only has 76-hectares of unsold lots and he is encouraging interested investors to “buy now or regret later” as Osmeña plans to double the price of the unsold lots following the latest deal between the city and SM Prime Holdings Inc.
This means that interior lots that cost P8, 000 per square meter will now be sold at P16, 000 per square meter and those located along the road will go up from P11, 000 per square meter to P15, 000 per square meter.
Osmeña earlier said that the move to increase the selling price of the SRP lots is a “consequence for future buyers,” adding that it is the City Government’s way of protecting SM Prime’s initial investment since it will not be easy once competition comes in.
Joint-venture deals with Filinvest Land Inc. (52 hectares) and SM Prime Holdings (32 hectares) are now generating an estimated of P1 billion in amortizations for the city. The amount covers almost half of the P2 billion annual operating budget of Cebu City
Meanwhile, the construction of a fast ferry terminal at the former Kawit Island will soon kick off, which will be the cornerstone development of the whole SRP.
Fast ferry operator Ocean Jet is set to launch their ferries from SRP to Tagbilaran City in Bohol and Dumaguete City in Oriental Negros.
The SRP was built using borrowed funds from the JBIC, now the Japan International Cooperation Agency, with the Land Bank of the Philippines as conduit bank.
Yu said once fully-developed, SRP will become the ultimate landmark of Cebu; at the same time become a largest revenue contributor of the City.