Cyber Bay stops work on Coastal Road project

Cyber Bay Corp. has suspended reclamation and development works along the Manila-Cavite Coastal Road in southern Metro Manila due to the Supreme Court ruling that nullified this joint venture deal with the government.

As the only asset of the publicly-listed Cyber Bay, the loss of the right to reclaim and develop about 750 hectares of land in the said area would cause the company and its implementing subsidiary Central Bay Development Corp. (formerly the foreign-controlled Amari Coastal Bay Development Corp.) to fold up. This would not only lead to the loss of huge investments but also heighten the negative perception of investors about government policies.

The government – already reeling from a runaway budget shortfall– would also be on the losing end since it stands to repay about P9.4 billion in expenses incurred by the property consortium since the 1995 amended joint venture agreement (AJVA) stipulates that in the event the company is prevented from completing the project, the state-run Public Estates Authority shall reimburse the expenses plus legal interest from the date of notice within one year.

Last July 9, the SC permanently stopped the implementation of the AJVA citing as grounds that the project was not awarded through a public bidding and involved the sale of submerged lands. Moreover, the High Court said reclaimed land, being part of the public domain, cannot be owned by private corporations.

Aside from the company, the PEA and the office of the Solicitor General have separately appealed and filed their own motions for reconsideration with the SC.

Cyber Bay is a consortium made up of Filipino investors led by San Miguel vice chairman and president Ramon Ang and major foreign stockholders led by Italian Thai Development Co. Ltd. and Amari Holdings Inc., which combine for around 21 percent of the company’s equity.

Under the AJVA, the government will take in a 30-percent share as part of the revenue sharing scheme once the project – conceived as a modern, integrated township in Southern Metro Manila – takes off toward full commercial operations.