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CEBU, Philippines - The developer of the P1.2-billion Ciudad Project ignored Vice Mayor Joy Augustus Young’s warning over the implementation of the project saying they are confident that the project will be supported by the Cebuanos despite the opposition of some Cebu City officials.
Young, in newspaper reports, warned the developer not to proceed with the project to prevent further losses as the city council will never allow the project to push through.
Young said that the contractor is making a big mistake in heeding the orders of Governor Gwendolyn Garcia who told Fifth Avenue Property Corp. to proceed with the construction.
The vice mayor said there is an existing moratorium which prohibits any development, especially commercial, in the Banilad-Talamban area until the traffic problem is solved.
But there are reports that there were about 10 buildings built in the area despite the moratorium.
Fifth Avenue, who presented their concept of the project to Garcia last week, said they will continue with the paperwork to get the necessary permits they need to start.
“Ciudad is a development that will allow us Cebuanos to reconnect with our past. The project is expected to attract tourists to Cebu. We are confident that Ciudad will be embraced by the people of Cebu who take pride in our heritage and are proud to be a Cebuano,” Fifth Avenue’s official statement said in response to the statement of some city officials.
A Fifth Avenue representative said there are at least two important permits that they still need to secure, the locational clearance and the excavation permit. The locational clearance is issued by the City Planning and Development Office while the excavation permit will come from the Office of the Building Official.
After this, they may proceed with the project.
The project, if started immediately, is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
Fifth Avenue has started the marketing and dissemination of information about the project.
In the Ciudad primer, it was explained that Ciudad will become more than just a commercial complex because its whole idea is a place where the culture and heritage of Cebu will be preserved.
The buildings will have different architectures representing the different eras that Cebu has survived. There will be a museum with old paintings, artifacts and other historical evidences of Cebu’s rich past.
Ciudad is said to not only help Cebu preserve its heritage and attract tourists but also to provide economic gains to its host communities.
Over 2,800 jobs are expected to be created when the site is fully operational. These jobs mean about P300 million in annual gains to the economy of Cebu City, the developer said.
To ease the traffic in the Ban-Tal area, the Provincial Capitol already pledged to develop and widen the roads for free.
Developing the roads leading to Ban-Tal and widening the road would cost over P230 million that will now become the savings of the Cebu City government.
Fifth Avenue said that the city government may use this savings to fund other projects and programs like in health and education.
Residents of Barangay Apas will be prioritized in the hiring for the construction. — (FREEMAN)
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