Retirement hub, Lease rate for lot at SRP approved

CEBU, Philippines - After three months, the Cebu City Council approved the P32 lease rate per square meter on the lot at the South Road Properties  where a P1.4 billion retirement facility will be built.

"The council is now okay with the P32 per square meter rental rate. With that, I am so happy," said Councilor Jose Daluz III, chairman of the Council's committee on awards. He said the rate was approved last week.

The P32 rate per square meter was the final proposal of the presidents of I Land Way Philippines, Inc. and Primary Properties Corp., the companies that will undertake the P1.4 billion project on the 1.25-hectare property at SRP. 

The P32 rate is lower by P68 than the rate proposed by the city government.

Both Daluz and Mayor Michael Rama lobbied for the approval of the project, which is seen to provide employment opportunities to Cebuanos and boost the city's economy and tourism.

In its report, the ad hoc committee on the retirement facility headed by Councilor Gerardo Carillo noted that the commencement of the project is important to spur more economic activity in the city.

"The committee opines and supports the rental base considering the noble purpose of the proposal which envisioned to establish a retirement facility for the Japanese Nationals…" Carillo said.

Carillo, a lawyer by profession, nevertheless, cautioned that the city will enforce a commercial rate should the investors fail to meet the agreement.

He said a major deviation from the plan should and must be approved by the City Council.

I Land Way Philippines Inc. President Kazuhito Matsuda earlier estimated a revenue of P32 billion for the city for the 25-year lease of the property. He also projected that the city will earn P33.75 million a month or P405 million a year once the facility becomes fully operational by 2017.

Carillo is expected to pass a resolution next week for the Council to approve the contract of lease and to authorize Rama to sign the leasehold agreement, Daluz said.

The Council wants to include the do's and don'ts in the final leasehold agreement, Daluz said. These would include the activities that would be allowed in the facility and those that would be prohibited.

Daluz said among those that should be prohibited are stand-alone housing; heavy industries such as petro-chemical plants, fertilizer plants, steel plants, cement plants, dynamite and other explosives, and other smokestack industries; gambling establishments; stand-alone golf courses, motor sports, etc; drive-in motels; manufacture of gunpowder and other explosive materials; junkyards/used equipment stockyards.

What can be allowed, he said, are services enterprise, academic and medical institutions, and tourism related activities like retirement facilities, amusement, condominiums, sports facilities, churches, among others. — (FREEMAN)