Global City gets huge funding

By Cheryl M. Arcibal, Reporter
May 16, 2006
Manila Times

IN A BID to develop a city comparable to those in Singapore and Hong Kong, the Fort Bonifacio Development Corp. will spend billions of pesos on building the Bonifacio Global City.

Vincent Tan, FBDC director and Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) executive vice president, on Monday said the FBDC would spend P8 billion from its internal funds over a period of 20 years to implement the master plan for the 240-hectare city located in Taguig.

Of the P2 billion that FBDC has allocated for this year’s work, P600 million would be used for the construction of the city’s retail center, the Promenade, which will be opened in December in time for the Christmas season.

Last year, FBDC spent a little less than P1 billion for infrastructure development.

“The development’s focus is a 40-meter wide landscaped area that will be 500 meters in length and will be lined by stores and restaurants with the latest and most novel concepts,” Tan said.

Joel Luna, ALI assistant vice president, said the revision of the original plan, which featured a circulatory road network, into a new master plan caused FBDC to give up some six hectares of “saleable land” worth between P150,000 and P200,000 for every square meter.

However, Luna, said the original plan for the city center, if it were pursued, would have given rise to a number of problems such as numerous traffic choke points, odd-shaped lots and unevenly distributed access to parks and other amenities.

The new master plan introduces four new elements such as a road grid that would allow a more efficient traffic management, dedicated bus lanes for a smooth-running public transit loop, pedestrian walkways that conveniently link buildings to parking and transit systems, and a well-distributed and broadly accessible park areas to serve as focal points.

ALI and its partner, the Campos-led Evergreen Holdings Inc., have acquired the controlling stake in FBDC.

Tan revealed that the Singapore Embassy has recently bought a 2,000-square-meter in the city to build its new office, which is presently located in Makati City.

Besides the Singapore Embassy, some three to five embassies have signified interests to acquire lots in the area and build their offices there.

Meanwhile, ALI expects a 10-percent increase in its net income for the second quarter of the year.

Jaime Ayala, ALI president, told reporters that with the remittances from overseas Filipino workers fueling the continued growth in the real estate sector, key interest rates have been kept low and confidence in the government in its effort to improve fiscal position is renewed.

ALI recently announced that its net income for the first three months of the year reached P1.28 billion from P1.233 billion in the same period last year.

Ayala International (AI), a wholly owned subsidiary of Ayala Corp. engaged in real- estate development outside the Philippines, is looking for some partners to help it develop projects abroad.

AI has projects in the United States, Thailand, Hong Kong and Singapore.