Tom prefers lease of SRP properties

Learning from the North Reclamation Project, Mayor Tomas Osmeña would rather lease the properties at the South Reclamation Project than sell the lots to possible owners who would leave the properties idle.

Osmeña said he would prefer to lease the properties at the controversial SRP to investors who make the properties productive like putting up companies or establishments that can create jobs for Cebuanos.

He said the city government is very selective in choosing investors for the SRP so as not to make it end up like the North Reclamation Project where majority of the properties sold were left idle by their owners. The owners of these properties, Osmeña said, are just waiting for the prices of land to go up.

The problem with the North Reclamation Project, the mayor said, is that there's nothing more to sell to possible investors who can make the properties productive.

"Mingaw but it's sold out...that's the problem because there's nothing more to sell...the lands have been bought a long time ago," Osmeña said.

The city government's vision for the SRP is to make it an economic zone like the Mactan Export Processing Zone.

"That's why the city is very selective of investors for the SRP...I would rather lease to those who would want to do something with the land like build a factory," Osmeña said.



Meanwhile, a big portion of the P120 million in real property taxes that the city government has collected from the Cebu Port Authority will reportedly go to the restoration of the drainage system at the North Reclamation Project.

The drainage there is reportedly silted and broken and that around P50 million is being allocated for restoration. But this reportedly cannot be accomplished immediately considering that the city government has to follow a process like bidding for materials to be used. The bidding itself is expected to run for a month.

Osmeña said that aside from the drainage per se, the sidewalk, road, and center island would also have to be restored. - Joeberth M. Ocao