THE developer of the proposed 400-hectare reclamation project in Lapu-Lapu City called Mactan Cebu Ocean City (MCOC) has debunked the statement of the city’s vice mayor casting doubt on its readiness to undertake the project, saying it is “able” to execute the project.
“We would like to correct the statement of the good vice mayor… The SVEDC Group and its investor partners are ready, willing, able and eager to implement the project,” Salug Valley Enterprises and Development Corp. (SVEDC) president and chief executive officer Noli Arnulfo Igano said in a statement sent to SunStar Cebu on Thursday night, Aug. 17, 2023.
A day earlier, Lapu-Lapu City Vice Mayor Celedonio “Celsi” Sitoy had told SunStar Cebu that SVEDC had expressed to the City Council that it did not have the financial capability to proceed with the project and that it was still looking for a partner to fund the project.
However, in his statement, Igano said the SVEDC Group was just waiting for the Lapu-Lapu City Government to secure the documentary requirements which are needed for them to start the civil works.
Igano said they are “eagerly waiting for the issuance of the updated area clearance from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the final notice to proceed from the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA),” both of which are the responsibility of the local government unit.
“Together with the Office of the City Mayor of Lapu-Lapu City, we are committed to implement the project the soonest time,” Igano said.
SunStar tried to reach Sitoy for comment on Igano’s statement but did not get a response from his camp as of press time.
MCOC is a project between the Lapu-Lapu City Government and the SVEDC Group, which includes Jan de Nul, Royal Haskoning, Philippine Business Bank, FBO Management Network Inc., and other private institutions.
Before its rebranding, MCOC was referred to as the Mactan North Reclamation and Development Project.
Approved 20 years ago
The reclamation project received approval during the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2003.
Five years later, a memorandum of agreement was signed by the PRA and the city administration under Arturo Radaza on April 27, 2008, obliging the PRA to offer technical support during the project’s execution and the City to get the project going as soon as it was feasible.
The project, which was projected to cost P10.29 billion in 2008, is now estimated to cost P25 billion, according to a document uploaded by the PRA.
Top destination
Covering 400 hectares of foreshore and offshore areas in Mactan Bay, the project aims to integrate industrial, commercial, residential and tourism development. It also aims to become one of Asia-Pacific’s top five tourist destinations in the next 10 years.
As envisioned in 2008, the reclamation will form a small islet covering the offshore land of adjacent Barangays Ibo, Buaya, Mactan and Punta Engaño. Three bridges will connect the islet to the mainland.
During his fourth State of the City Address last July 5, Mayor Junard Chan said the reclamation project was expected to happen this year.
