Floods feared to drive away tourists, investors

CEBU, Philippines - Businessmen in Cebu have expressed concerns that the constant flooding in Cebu would drive away investors and tourists, if not given immediate resolution.

"People will start staying away from Cebu. If Cebu can only offer either traffic and flooding, what's the attraction," said Cebu Business Club president Gordon Alan "Dondi" Joseph.

Joseph, who is also the chairman for integrated planning committee of the Metro Cebu Development Coordinating Board, the group responsible of the "Mega Cebu" project, said that in saving Cebu from "drowning", the group is now making follow ups on the masterplan for flooding proposal, which they submitted to the Department of Public Works and Highways hoping for the immediate implementation of the proposal.

"The cause of flooding in Cebu had been identified already. I hope the Cebu City council will act on it. We will help them in the technical side. If they don’t help — we can only raise our voices. These concerns which need immediate action needs push by the local government units, " said Joseph.

The constant flooding in major business areas in Cebu whenever it rains, has already caused an alarm, not only for the Cebuano residents, but also outsiders who may have plans to invest in Cebu.

According to Joseph, MCDCB will also present the "Mega Cebu" project to Senator Peter Allan Cayetano.

The MCDCB was established three years ago led by the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation and six large private sector groups like CBC, Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry, among others, with plans and goals fully supported by IBM.

Apart from the business groups, 14 local government units have also committed to participate in this plan to start off the project to bring about “urban renewal” to Metro Cebu, which as of now is already showing signs of “urban decay."

The Mega Cebu project involves an integrated masterplan that will make greater Cebu, from Carcar in the South, to Danao in the north, a world-class metropolitan region.

Supported by IBM Philippines, through its Smart City campaign, this movement is seen to change Cebu’s landscape in the next 30 years, benchmarking the successful mega regions in Canada, like Vancouver which also applied this concept.

From 1995 to 2010 the population growth in Metro Cebu grew by 50 percent, from a total of 1.63 million population count in 1995, to 2.5 million living in the Metropolis in 2010. Basing on the current population growth rate, population count is seen to hit 4.27 million by 2030.

While Cebu has not keep up with its growth over the years, the absence of good collaborative masterplanning, MCDCB is moving forward to take good care of Cebu's potential for growth. (FREEMAN)