City Mayor Benjamin Magalong has assured that whatever modality and agreement proves to be the most viable for the long delayed development of the city public market, it will be for the benefit of the city.
In his State of the City Address last Sept.1 delivered during the 111th Baguio Charter Day program, Magalong said the project is allegedly tainted with controversies.”
He begged off elaborating when sought for additional statement by the Courier.
The Public-Private Partnership for the People Initiative (P4) Selection Committee has submitted to the Office of City Mayor an executive summary of the proceedings and reports that were used as basis in the awarding of the original proponent status (OPS) to Robinsons Land Corp. for the market development.
City Administrator Bonifacio dela Peña, P4 selection committee chair, told the Courier on Thursday that Magalong will either approve or disapprove the P4 recommendation, but he has yet to act on it. The mayor earlier said deciding on the best deal for the market development needs a thorough review.
Dela Peña said this is why the mayor has requested for an executive summary from the P4 selection committee and is currently reviewing them.
Dela Peña said he has prepared the executive summary based on his evaluation of the proposals and the reports of four P4 selection sub-committees.
The summary showed that the other proponent, SM Prime Holdings, has provided more substantial information and supporting data for its proposed development for the city market.
Dela Peña said in terms of socio-economic, financial, technical, and legal aspects and on the documents required from proponents Robinsons and SM Prime Holdings Inc., both complied and submitted complete requirements.
But Robinsons failed to submit other substantial data such as the description of market and mall floor areas as part of the technical design of its proposed structure(s) and demand forecasting, which should show the number of tenants and annual revenue that can be generated from them.
Dela Peña said the reports show that SM was able to submit the additional data required.
He said Robinsons explained it will submit the needed data if it would be awarded the OPS and discuss it during negotiations.
Around 15 multi-national companies have signified their intention to participate in the Swiss challenge following reports that RLC was granted the OPS. – Hanna C. Lacsamana
April 19, 2024
