NO CONFUSION - IT IS NEW MANDAUE

Another Sun Star Article dated May 10th 2006:

"CEBU CITY -- Mandaue City Mayor Thadeo Ouano said there is actually no confusion on the names of the two reclamation areas in Mandaue and Cebu cities. Their reclamation project is called "New Mandaue City" since the term of his father, former mayor Alfredo “Pedong” Ouano. A huge sign says so at the entrance of the area.

Its address is "South Reclamation Area" as it is located south of the city.

Ouano also said there is no competition between Mandaue’s and Cebu City’s reclaimed properties, as all the lots in Mandaue are already sold to different private owners such as Ayala Corp. and Cebu Overseas Hardware.

The marketing arm of the South Reclamation Project (SRP) is also not at all disturbed by Mandaue's reclamation project that has a similar name and concept as Cebu City’s.

"There will be no competition of bids," said Joel Mari Yu, executive director of the Cebu Investment and Promotions Center (CIPC).

Sun.Star Cebu sought the comments of Yu, who was in Spain Tuesday.

But SRP project manager Nigel Paul Villarete wants to ask Mandaue officials why they came up with a name very close to Cebu City’s that has been there for the last 17 years.

"I'm speculating that they might want to ride on the promotion activities of the SRP. Why would anybody name a development zone very close to the SRP?" he said.

Yu said that if there is anyone who should be worried, it should be Mandaue itself.

He said Mandaue is not the only local government unit that is developing the foreshores but also Lapu-Lapu City, which is pushing for the P6.3-million feasibility study of a proposed 400-hectare reclamation project.

"All our local executives are too hot about reclaiming the foreshores, without realizing that they will have a hard time finding institutions to finance their project. If you are a financier and you are looking for a partner to invest in a reclaimed facility, you will face a problem of marketing it because there is already Cebu City's SRP. Kita man ang nag-una," Yu added.

While Villarete is wary about the possible confusion of names, he said it will only be an initial situation.

But when serious investors would dig deeper into the circumstances, they will see the difference between the two reclamation projects, he said.

"The SRP has been declared a special economic zone while I have not heard of any declaration for the South Reclamation Area. The SRP has been there for the last 15 years and we've never heard of the SRA until last week," Villarete told Sun.Star Cebu.

In a separate interview, Mayor Ouano said F.F. Cruz and Co. Inc., which owns majority of the New Mandaue City, is yet to issue a formal answer to Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña's pronouncement that similar names will create confusion.

F.F. Cruz director for property management Yvonne Gomos said the 200-hectare New Mandaue City is purely a private initiative, wherein 30 percent or 60 hectares of the total reclaimed area were turned over to the host City Government.

F.F. Cruz already sold the remaining portion to private firms although Ouano said the developer retained a few areas for itself.

As for the whole area, Mandaue City negotiated with a private firm to do the zoning.

City Councilor Wenceslao Gakit said the private firm is yet to submit its proposed zoning ordinance, before owners can start vertical structures on their properties.

Gakit admitted that in some areas zoning was done on a piecemeal basis. This is why there are partial developments in the area.

Gakit failed to specify why there has been no approved zoning ordinance yet.

Mayor Ouano also admitted that the property originally leased to Uniwide is again vacant, as they are now looking for partners or investors to put up a hotel to complement the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC), the venue of the Asean summit this December.

Uniwide and CICC, which is under construction, are within the area owned by the Mandaue City Government.

"We'd rather complement each other rather than compete," said Ouano, referring to mayors of Metro Cebu.

He said Cebu residents from Bogo to Santander will benefit from their economic success as their projects are geared towards generating more employment.

As for the other areas of the New Mandaue, it's F.F. Cruz that will take care of that.

Ouano's consultant Jonji Gonzales explained that part of the 50-hectare lot owned by F.F. Cruz is where Cebu Boardwalk will build its Marina and the Yacht Club.

F.F. Cruz hired Jun Palafox to do the urban planning of that particular area intended for the two facilities.

Gonzales said the City Government plans to turn the New Mandaue into a "central business district" to show that the city has developed from its former industrial city image to a commercial and tourism hub of the Visayas. (OCP/GAC of Sun.Star Cebu)"