SM-ALI tussle pushes up Bacolod land prices

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines – The bidding war between property giants Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) and SM Prime Holdings Inc. over a 7.7-hectare prime property of the Negros Occidental provincial government in this city has caused land prices in the area to escalate close to 50 percent since last year.

Citing reports from the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI) and the local real estate sector, Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. said property prices around the Provincial Capitol area have gone up nearly 50 percent, reflecting the upswing in the local and national economy.

The provincial government awarded the 7.7-hectare property to ALI in July 2011, but the contract was contested in court by rival SM Prime, which insisted it was the rightful winner in the bidding.

ALI is proposing to develop the entire 7.7-hectare property into a P6-billion Capitol Civic Center, an integrated mixed-use civic and commercial district, with retail, office, residential and hotel components, and is envisioned to be the growth center of Negros Occidental.

Marañon noted that the “property sector is expe-riencing its best real estate market in 20 years and in Bacolod, property prices have gone up to new levels, especially in Lacson St., the city’s growth center.”

He cited reports that the sale of lots along Lacson St. has fetched a high of P35,000 per square meter, a sizable 75 percent hike from P20,000 per sqm the previous year.

Last year, the Capitol properties were assessed at P35,000 per sqm, and are expected to reach P40,000 per sqm this year, the report added.

“If it is true that the Capitol area is expected to breach the P40,000 per sqm benchmark, then we are happy that more than a year ago and ahead of this Philippine economic boom, we had the vision of developing the Capitol property not only to preserve the legacy and perpetuate its history but to also have it upgraded for the benefit of our people into a modern and landmark township,” Marañon said.

“This will symbolize our being an outstanding growth center in this part of the country.  It makes sense to take advantage of this tremendous appreciation of the value of the Capitol property by reviewing the development project and the additional income we will get from the higher price it can fetch now.” â€¨â€¨

The MBCCI said the sustained remittance inflow from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and the flourishing business process outsourcing (BPO) industry has triggered the real estate boom in Bacolod.

The city is home to major BPO players like Convergys, Teleperformance, TeleTech, Transcom and Panasiatic.

Marañon said it will be now up to the next administration—the next governor and the next Sanggunian Panlalawigan in 2013—to determine if the contract for the development of the 7.7-hectare Capitol property will be “re-bid” or not.

“I (will) leave it to whoever will be the next governor of Negros Occidental to undertake this Capitol development project in the light of its higher value,” the governor said.



“We are definitely ready to ride with the economy’s dynamic growth because of the progress we have achieved in agriculture, healthcare, education, infrastructure, tourism, BPOs, exports and in many other areas of development,” he said.

“More people employed and earning will mean higher levels of consumption and these will, on the other hand, result in more investments coming in to drive trade, industry and commerce up,” Marañon added.

“Economic growth is now being felt more and more in Negros Occidental and its productive response to these opportunities is reflected in our being cited the ‘Best Performing Province’ for 2012 by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG),” the governor added.