To earn P32 billion for Cebu City, Japanese eye P1.4B SRP retirees’ home

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu City Government has received an unsolicited proposal to build a multiple-storey Japanese retirement facility worth P1.4 billion at the South Road Properties (SRP).

While seen as good news as it would bring much-needed revenue to add to the City's coffers, the proposal, however, has to go through the usual process of approval, first by the executive department then by the City Council, which is dominated by the opposition.

The Cebu City Council is set to have an executive session on Feb. 19 to discuss the terms and reference of the lease of the 1.25-hectare portion of the SRP intended for the said facility.

The council has invited the chairman and members of the City's bids and awards committee, appraisal committee, City Attorney's Office, City Planning officer, and SRP Management Office Chief Roberto "Bu"Varquez to join the session.

As presented by the Japanese investors to city officials Wednesday evening, the project would give the City Government a total projected revenue of P32 billion.I Land Way Philippines Inc. president Kazuhito Matsuda said the facility would be built on a 1.25 hectare property at the SRP. It would have three multiple-storey buildings with 855 units to accommodate approximately 1,125 retirees, or an average of 1.3 retirees every unit.

With an estimated cost of P1.41 billion, construction of the project is eyed to start on the second quarter of 2015.

Matsuda said the structures would be built by phases. The first structure, a 16-storey building, has a total of 154 units and was being projected to be finished in 2017, if construction starts as planned.

The second phase involves the construction of a 25-storey building a total of 253 units that would be completed in 2018, while the third building would be a 30-storey structure housing 448 units and expected to be done in 2019.

It was presented that a substantial portion of the 1.25-hectare facility is intended as "open spaces planted with trees and flowering plans alongside a Japanese Zen Garden to promote health, balance and harmony between people and nature".

"The city of Cebu could generate additional taxes and fees such as real property tax, business tax, regulatory fees and other charges estimated to be in the tens of millions of pesos," Matsuda said.

He estimated that during the full operation of the facility in 2017, the City Government is set to earn a revenue of P33.75 million a month, or P405 million annually.

Matsuda said at least 1, 000 workers would be needed and at most 5, 000 could get hired for the said development.

"Thousands more are benefited from the trickle-down effect of the project, including those involved in the value and supply chain," he said.

The company would be hiring services, such as restaurant management, hotel service, assisted living care service, and medical staff.

The company would also provide trainings and programs to all employees, including that on Japanese language proficiency "to make them employable in Japan and eventually deployment to Japan."

Matsuda said they have to cater to thousands of aged citizens in Japan by building a retirement facility in Cebu.

He said that with 32 million of the population aged 65 years old and above, Japan is aging rapidly. He further said that years from now, those with ages 55 years and above are seen to increase to 40 percent of the total population of their country.

"(With) the rapid growth of the retiree population, the lack of trained medical personnel and the limited retirement facilities, long-term care for each retiree is not sufficient in Japan, with millions waiting to be served," Matsuda said.

In 2010, Matsuda's company was invited to invest in the Philippines.

I Land Co. Japan saw Cebu City as an ideal place for the retirement facility, and Japanese top executives visited the city last year to strengthen the proposal to the City Government.

That time, the investors held a series of meetings with City Mayor Michael Rama's representatives, and later identified the SRP, particularly a portion of Lot 7, adjacent to Pond A, as an ideal location.

Iland Co. Japan has established a sister company in Cebu, which is I Land Way Phils. Inc., and entered into a consortium with Beta Aquila Primary Corp, sister company of Primary Properties Corporation, for the sole purpose of developing a retirement facility at the SRP.   /RHM (FREEMAN)