Mactan-Cebu Bridge Board backs MCCI’s park project

CEBU, Philippines - The proposed P30-million project for the improvement of the Mandaue Bridge Park has gained the support of the Mactan Cebu Bridge Management Board.

During a meeting yesterday between the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which ventured on the development of the park situated under Marcelo Fernan Bridge, and the MCBMB, the former sought the help of the board with regards to the funding of the project.

Nigel Paul Villarete, general manager of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority and member of the board, said a resolution has been made to support the project, but they have asked MCCI to work first on the legalities surrounding the ownership of the bridge.

Girlie Garces of San Miguel Brewery, also a member of the MCCI Board of Trustees, said during the meeting that the master plan is still being worked on and that they have yet to fix the documentations needed before they can start with the whole process of improvement.

“This (project) is the Mandaue side of the bridge… We are still on the drawing board. But we may have to look first into the legalities required. We have to have everything well set so that we are all in the right when we start doing things,” she said, adding that they are hoping the project would be realized within the year.

She added that the estimated P30 million for the project would already cover the structural work as well as the aesthetics. The structural plan will be taken care of by the Department of Public Works and Highways.

Around P725,000 has already been raised from a fund campaign for the Mandaue Bridge Park’s improvement.

San Miguel Brewery also donated P1 million and part of it has been utilized to mount a gate that separates the park from the regular passageway, said Garces.

She said that the Mandaue City government is also working with MCCI for the project.

“We have high hopes for this park because it is really going to be for the people of Mandaue,” she told reporters.

The city’s business sector wants the park to be developed into a family park since the area has been foreseen as an ideal venue for fun and relaxation.

The development of the family park was formally inaugurated during the opening salvo of the Mandaue Business Month on July 2 last year.  (FREEMAN)