The city will prepare the master development plan for the Asin Hot Spring Complex in preparation for the expiration of the three-year contract the city entered with a private operator.
City Budget Officer Leticia O. Clemente said the city government will decide whether it will take over the operation of the Asin Hot Spring Complex or subject the same through the public-private partnership to entice possible investors to operate the city-owned facility.
She said after the city possessed the property, it offered the same for a short-term lease with a local company.
From the P5,000 lease rentals paid by the previous operator of the facility, Clemente said it increased to P30,000 with an annual escalation until the expiration of the contract when the facility was contracted out to a private party.
The city government fenced off the property and eventually evicted the previous operator that paved the way for the three-year lease with a private company in 2019.
Clemente said the city government has to maximize opportunities to entice investors to partner with the city for various revenue-generating projects so the city can generate income in anticipation of the projected loss in its National Tax Allocation (NATA) in the next two years.
She said the Department of Budget Management already informed LGUs there will be a significant reduction on their NATA in 2023 and 2024 because of the reduction on the revenue that was generated by the government during the pandemic.
Clemente said the city government will embark on an 18-point investment plan to serve as the city’s blueprint in moving forward after the pandemic that heavily impacted on the global economy in the past two years. – PIO release
April 23, 2024
