THE Capitol and the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) have signed on Wednesday a P1.5 billion loan agreement for the construction of a new building.
Gov. Hilario Davide IIII said the loan would be used to fund the reconstruction of the old Baex Building and turn it to a 20-storey building inside the Capitol compound.
Davide said that was hoping that he could get teh support of the Provincial Board and stakeholders for this project.
After the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) together with the representatives from DBP, Davide said they would pass a supplemental budget to be approved by the Provincial Board (PB).
Then, an ordinance will be crafted by the PB to ratify the loan agreement, he added.
“After that we will call for bids for the construction of the building,” Davide said.
Under the agreement,the DBP will allow the province to borrow P1.5 billion, with at least a 2.9 percent fixed interest rate that should be paid in 10 years.
He said that the money would stay in the bank and it is the bank who would pay for the construction of the new building.
“Dili na makuha adto ra na sa banko. Mag bidding pa man ta sa construction, inig sugod sa contruction mag billing man na ang sa kon kinsay mo construct ini, ang banko nay mobayad ana (The money cannot be withdrawn from the bank. We still have to bid for the construction of the project. Once the construction starts, the contractor will bill us. The bank will be the one to pay for that),” he said.
He said they would also ask permission from Cebu City to demolish the old building, to pave way for the construction.
Davide said the new building will have open spaces for Capitol’s new offices, while opening areas for lease.
Aside from new offices, Davide also planned to create a command center for the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) in the new building.
He said the targeted date for the ground breaking of the project is on November and the 20-storey building is expected to be completed after one and half year.