Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña
A LEGAL team in Cebu City Hall is studying the proposed development to lease a portion of the South Road Properties (SRP) and convert it into a hotel, convention center and casino.
Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña said that the joint venture selection committee, which he heads, is working on the proposed project.
This as the JG Summit Holdings Inc. submitted its proposal to the city last week.
Osmeña said the city will then be negotiating with JG Summit.
“Once you come into agreement, we will discuss all the details, then it will be submitted to the council for approval,” he said.
Osmeña said he hopes that by the end of this year, the proposal will already be submitted to the City Council.
The committee tasked to study the proposal is composed of city administrator Nigel Paul Villarete as the chairman, Bimbo Fernandez as the representative of the mayor and its members Ronald Malacora of the General Services Office(GSO), Jovy Morelos of the City Treasurer Office (CTO) and the three private sector representatives Ricky Dakay, Joel Yu and Jacob Koshy.
Osmeña said if the council approves of the project, it will then be publicized for competition.
He said other interested companies could then compete and give better offers.
Asked on the comment of Barug Team Rama that the mayor is favoring a private company, Osmeña said it was JG Summit that submitted its proposal to the city.
He, however, said he would not favor those which he considered tax evaders.
He also said that Barug Team Rama councilors would always try to question the project given the fact that it is his project.
“They will question it because it is my project. I will say to the people, let us just get rid of them, we can move ahead faster. What can they do? Who can they bring?” he said.
Osmeña said as soon as the project is publicized, he would announce the sale for the three-hectare lot in SRP.
He said the project would bolster the city’s planned sale and bring in higher bids from interested developers.
“This will hopefully make it (SRP lot) more expensive,” he said.