A P300 billion urban development project, that will be implemented through public private partnership, is now on the drawing board of the Legazpi city government.
The project involve the reclamation of a vast portion of an area off the shoreline covered by two barangays at the southern coast here, City Mayor Noel Rosal, said.
The reclamation will cover about 10 hectares along the four-kilometer stretch of the newly opened Legazpi Boulevard.
Development of the area, was started by the city government with the opening of the five-kilometer boulevard as part of a new road network extending up to the Southern Luzon International Airport, is currently ongoing.
The airport, now ongoing construction within a 200-hectare plateau in Barangay Alobo, Daraga, Albay, some 10 kilometers from the city proper, is expected to start operations next year.
“Since we will have a less traffic-congested road linking the new airport with this new urban center, most of the arrivals — especially tourists — will certainly find their way to here,” Rosal said.
“We now have the blueprint of this project that impresses some local and foreign investors and perhaps in the next three years’ time, we will start seeing massive construction activities taking place in the area through these investors under the PPP scheme,” according to Rosal.
The aggressive PPP promotion by the Aquino administration enables the government to attract private partners to invest not only in traditional infrastructure projects — such as power, transportation and water sectors — but also in non-traditional infrastructure and development sectors, such as information and communications technology, health and property development.
“We are grabbing the opportunity being offered by this achievement and in fact, several big investors have already signified their intentions to take part in this mega project which will become our new urban development area that will also be the next city government center where the City Hall and all the other local government offices will be relocated,” Rosal said.
The City Engineering Office and the City Fire Department have already been moved to their new buildings at the site near the foot of Kapuntukan Hill that separates the development site from Embarcadero de Legazpi.
Construction of the P100-million convention center that the city is putting up via PPP along the bayside boulevard is set to start next year.
The city has been host to at least 20 big conventions, conferences, seminars and group tours organized by government, private and international organizations.
“This convention center will be the first of its kind in the country outside Metro Manila. It will be built as a state-of-the-art facility that could conveniently accommodate even more than 5,000 people,” he said.
Among the amenities that the reclaimed area will accommodate are top-class hotels, specialty restaurants, cafes and shops, tourist center, water and land transportation terminals, bayview amphitheater, commercial strip, celebration plaza and business process outsourcing offices, Rosal said.
“A modern hospital and a posh residential subdivision will also be established within the area, along with all utilities and services to make it a really stand-alone site for convenient living, leisure stays, shopping, recreation, special gatherings, physical fitness, works and even promenading,” he added. (from PNA report)
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