Duterte due to sign P40-B Davao coastline JV deal
June 22, 2016 at 08:27am
The signing was scheduled right after the conclusion of the two-day socioeconomic consultative dialogue held at the SMX Convention Center at SM Lanang Premier, nine days before his inauguration as the 16th president of the Philippines.
“The signing of the JVA is very important as it will give personality to the project,” said Davao City Investment Promotions Center officer-in-charge Ivan C. Cortez. The JVA must be signed by Mr. Duterte before he assumes office as president; otherwise, the project will have to undergo deliberations at the City Council once again if the next mayor wants to review the proposal.
The JVA, which was approved by the City Council on April 12, was originally scheduled for signing on April 25 but was postponed due to the hectic schedule of Mr. Duterte during the campaign period.
Under the unsolicited proposal submitted by proponent Mega Harbour, the four-island mixed-use Davao Coastline and Port Development Project will have commercial, industrial, tenement housing and government components as well as an international port. The original starting target was March with completion by 2019.
The first island which involves 75 ha. between Agdao and Sta. Ana will include a 5-ha. government center and a port; the second island will be 39.24 ha. for the central business district and shopping center; the third will have 59.47 ha. for tourist centers and residential resorts; and the fourth will have 40.89 ha. for township development.
The project however has a long way to go after the signing of the JVA as the project proponent will have to get permits from various government agencies including the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
Once approved by the PRA and NEDA, the project is required to undergo another pubic bidding under Executive Order 146 which delegates to the NEDA Board the President’s power to approve reclamation projects. Mr. Cortez said Mega Harbour was the sole bidder during the Swiss challenge conducted last year but it is willing to participate in another bidding process.
The NEDA Board approval is required of all reclamation projects initiated by the PRA or any government entity as well as reclamation projects initiated by the private sector through the PRA or any local government which is the case in the Mega Harbour project.
Source: bworldonline.com
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