BOT eyed in RP’s assets abroad

High-priced government properties in Washington, D.C. and New York City will be developed with American partners on a build-operate-transfer arrangement, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.

Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Administration Franklin Ebdalin said yesterday the former Philippine Embassy chancellery on Massachusetts Avenue in Washington’s embassy row has a market value of more than $2 million.

"We want to offer it for development on a build-operate-transfer scheme," he said.

Ebdalin said the government also plans to develop a seven-story building in New York City which houses the Philippine Consulate and the Philippine Mission to the United Nations.

The government also owns lots in Houston, Texas and Seattle, Washington State, which are not being used for consular offices, Ebdalin said. – Pia Lee-Brago