Developers join city taskforce to address flooding in SRP

A man on a motorcycle passes through the flooded Mambaling access road to the South Road Properties (SRP). Heavy flooding in the area has been a major cause of concern among SRP locators.
(CDN FILE PHOTO)

A task force has been created to address flooding at the South Road Properties (SRP).

It was formed after a meeting yesterday with Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama and commercial developers of the SRP, who appealed  for City Hall to take action after four years of recurring flashfloods in the area.

Rama said the team is tasked  to come up with a drainage master plan for the 300-hectare reclaimed area as well as immediate solutions to flooding in the area.

Filinvest Land, Inc. (FLI) vice president Allan Go Alfon and SRP manager Roberto “Bu” Varquez will co-chair the task force.

The memers are SRP stakeholders including Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI) and SM Prime Holdings, Inc.

“They’re all in one territory. They have all the tools, manpower. It would be very effective when all efforts are combined,” the mayor said.

Alfon welcomed the creation of the task force, which will hold its first meeting on Monday.

“I think that’s the best direction because if the three of us are there, then one cannot put up a master plan without involving the others because that’s interconnected, it’s not independent,” Alfon told reporters after the meeting.

Engineers from Ayala and SM also attended the meeting  with a representative from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Cebu City District.

On Monday, they will discuss  permanent engineering solutions for the area.

In the meantime, Alfon said each of the three developers will put up temporary drainage and prepare pumps to take out floodwaters as palliative measures.

Alfon earlier wrote to Cebu City Hall, appealing for the government to  remedy the flooding in the SRP.

“With incidents experienced over the past four years, we expect DPWH and the Cebu City Government to have already taken measures to prevent and better mitigate flooding, one that anticipates more volume of rainfall and runoff waters in the coming years,” Alfon said in his letter dated July 6.

He said FLI is willing to support the technical working group in formulating a master plan. The company, however, urged government to allocate resources for and implement the master plan as soon as possible.

For their part, FLI management teams have prepared standby pumps to expedite the outflow of floodwaters.

Rama said the three giant property developers ought to be more actively involved in addressing the flooding problem because they have huge projects at the SRP.

FLI is developing the 50-hectare City di Mare at the SRP. The project includes a 40-hectare residential development which is being undertaken in a joint venture with the city government as well as a 10.6-hectare commercial and leisure strip called Il Corso.

SM, meanwhile, is developing the 30-hectare SM Seaside Complex, which includes the SM Seaside City Mall.

SM and Ayala are also expected to be awarded the contract to acquire and develop the 26-hectare adjacent lot, on which the Pedro Calungsod templete stands, while FLI is expected to be awarded a 19-hectare lot.