Pre-reclamation activities for a P20 billion Mactan-North Reclamation Development Project have started along barangays Ibo, Buaya, Mactan and Punta Engaño.
Hole boring to determine the terrain and what areas need backfilling is being conducted offshore.
The developers are completing their requirements next month to prepare for the launching later this year of the 400-hectare reclamation, said project manager and lawyer Michael Dignos.
The plan calls for the creation of four artificial islands connected with seven bridges.
The project is a joint venture between the Lapu-Lapu city government and a Dutch consortium led by Royal Boskalis International.
The consortium was the one that developed the Palm Islands in Dubai.
Dignos said Lapu-Lapu City will share 51 percent of the revenues with 49 percent for the developer.
Mayor Paz Radaza, in an interview, welcomed the project, saying it would create more jobs and promote the city as a world class destination for business and tourism.
The proposal calls for an international port facing Consolacion and Lilo-an towns.
“This will provide easier access for the companies especially the Mactan Export Processing Zone locators and other business enterprise who will be shifting and receiving cargoes by boat,” said Dignos.
The project includes a five-hectare reclaimed portion at the tip of barangay Punta Engaño where a giant statue of Lapu-Lapu will be erected.
Of the seven bridges to be built, four will connect the new “islands” to the the mainland of Lapu-Lapu city. Three other bridges will link the four “islands” which will be separated by canals that allow the free flow of seawater to allow mangroves to thrive.
Dignos said the Lapu-Lapu City government and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environment Management Bureau in Central Visayas (DENR-EMB 7) signed a memorandum of agreement for the project last March 14, 2014.
He said all requirements including approval from the Philippine Reclamation Authority were completed.
Cebu Daily News asked DENR 7 spokesman Eddie Llamedo if the project had a permit.
Llamedo, in a text message, said he was not familiar with the project.
“So far the DENR 7 has not issued an area clearance for the project. Aside from the Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) they should have submitted clearances from the Department of Energy, Department of Public Works and Highways, Philippine Port Authority, and the Department of Tourism.”
“They could not proceed without the ECC. At the same time, they also need an endorsement from the National Economic Development Authority and the Regional Development Council,” he said.
“Since this is a reclamation project which is considered an environmentally critical project or an ECP, this has to pass a close scrutiny or evaluation on the effects and impacts of the project on the environment,” he said.
“It means it has to pass through an environmental impact assessment and review. Also the social acceptability issue must be taken into consideration very seriously.”