QC approves SSS development zone ordinance

The Quezon City Council has approved on third and final reading an ordinance reclassifying a 55,634 square meter property owned by the Social Security System (SSS) at the corner of EDSA and East Avenue from an "institutional zone" into a "special development Zone, virtually paving the way for the construction of a P8-billion SSS corporate complex that will generate an estimated 15,000 job opportunities in the city.

Council majority leader Ariel Inton and Councilor Winston "Winnie" Castelo, principal authors of the ordinance said the proposed measure was in support of the efforts of Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr. to make Quezon City a major business destination in the country.

"The newly approved ordinance will also provide tremendous employment opportunities for resident in Quezon City," Castelo told The STAR in a interview.

He said that apart from generating employment, the SSS development zone would also become a major source of revenue for the city government.

Other authors of the ordinance are Councilors Victor Ferrer, Rommel Abesamis Voltaire Liban III, Ramon Medalla, Franz Pumaren, Restituto Malangen and Bayani Hipol.

Included in the ordinance is a provision which gives the go-signal for the construction of a nine high rise towers, ranging from 19 to 38 storeys, that will house an SSS member hall, banks, park facilities, malls and a public transportation hub.

Middle-income housing units with car park facilities and a livelihood center will also be developed in the SSS corporate complex.