KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/9 February) – The city government is working for the immediate purchase of a 5.9-hectare prime property worth around P40 million that would be utilized for the planned construction this year of a modern transport terminal complex.
Mayor Peter Miguel said a technical working group (TWG) commissioned by the local government for the project is currently finalizing the negotiations for the acquisition of the property, which is located near the national highway in Purok Yellow Bell of Barangay Zone 3 here.
He said they already submitted a request to the Sangguniang Panlungsod for the issuance of an authority that would allow him to enter into a contract with the lot’s owner – the Abella family – for the acquisition of the property.
“We’ll immediately work on the design and determine the possible funding sources for the project once we seal the lot’s purchase,” the mayor said.
The city government initially approved last year the appropriation for the acquisition of the city terminal’s site through a P60-million supplemental budget, which was sourced from the city’s unutilized appropriation for various projects from 2001 to 2009.
Part of such appropriation was set aside by the local government for the purchase of a 10-hectare property in Barangay Paraiso that it plans to develop as a sanitary landfill.
Jennifer Malinao, a member of the terminal project’s TWG, said they chose the Abella property as the proposed terminal’s site based on evaluations made by the city’s lot selection and appraisal committees.
She said the property’s owner was among those who earlier responded to the city government’s public invitation for land sale in connection with the terminal project.
The city received 10 offers for sale and 5 of them were eventually ranked by the committees, she said.
Malinao said the Abella property covers a total of 59,980 square meters and would be acquired by the city at a rate of P676.59 per square meter.
The P40-million allocation will cover for the purchase of the lot, incidental expenses, documentary stamps, capital gains tax and for the site’s earth fill, she said.
She said the proposed main building of terminal complex will cover two hectares while the rest of the site will serve as buffer area or spot for future developments.
Miguel earlier said the city government will commission a comprehensive study for the design of the terminal complex, focusing on addressing concerns on accessibility and area traffic.
He said they want to ensure that the project will complement with the city’s development and expansions on a long-term basis.
“We don’t want the proposed terminal complex here to become too congested later on like what happened to the Davao City Overland Terminal and in other areas,” he added. (Allen V. Estabillo / MindaNews)