City Hall to bid out SRP lots

CEBU, Philippines — The Cebu City government has decided to dispose of three hectares of South Road Properties through public bidding instead of the unsolicited proposal to get rid of the required approval from the Commission on Audit.

Executive Assistant to the mayor Francisco Fernandez said the COA has not responded to the communication of the city government requesting appraisal of the three-hectare property it intends to sell.

“Mag public bidding nalang ta kay dili ta kinahanglan og prior approval gikan sa COA, we can go ahead so (mao) nga i-public bidding nato deretso,” he told reporters.

Last April, the city government received an unsolicited offer from Federal Land which expressed interest to purchase Lot 1 F-8, Psd-07-075186 with 29,881 square meter at P115,000 per square meter or for a total of P3.43 billion.

The private company wished to construct nine residential towers surrounded by a variety of street level shops, restaurants interspersed with verdant landscapes and sports and leisure facilities on the property.

Fernandez said the city wants COA to review and concur to the resolution of the Committee on Awards which appraised the lot at P110,000 per square meter. It was two years ago when the City Council passed an ordinance authorizing Mayor Tomas Osmeña to dispose the SRP property at P110,000 per square meter.

“Ni submit ta og letter sa COA niya dugay man kaayo, until now wala man gihapon, so i-public bidding. We are now working on the papers para og mogawas to’ng swiss challenge (unsolicited proposal) then we will go sa swiss challenge niya og dili to mogawas then we will go sa public bidding,” Fernandez said.

As of now, Fernandez said the executive department is waiting for the city’s appraisal committee to peg the value of the lot. He said the publication to invite private firms for the public bidding will be done within the month or before the year ends.

With the huge property involved, Fernandez believes that several private companies will take part in the public bidding given that the construction industry is booming in the city.

“I think sa atong assessment daghan interesado ana, dili lang Federal. So, Federal land is also, of course, invited to bid and we hope they will bid, that’s open to everybody,” he added. (FREEMAN)