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TO ADDRESS SOCIOECONOMIC WOES

Colliers urges developers to reacquire donated lands from gov't


Real estate consultancy firm Colliers International Philippines is urging property developers to reacquire lands previously donated to the government, in order to develop more townships in Metro Manila as a way of solving socioeconomic woes plaguing the capital.

"Some developers have donated parcels of land to various government agencies and we recommend visiting the option of reacquiring those properties," Colliers International Research Manager Joey Roi Bondoc told reporters during a briefing in Makati City.

The government's failure to address adequately the socioeconomic problems of Metro Manila such as flooding, worsening traffic, and poor mass transportation systems has compelled the private sector to build master planned communities that integrate a live-work-play lifestyle, Bondoc said in a separate research note.

"Even if the donated lands would cost much higher now, master planned communities have high yield. So they will definitely be able to recover the money that they spent. This is definitely a feasible option for developers," he said.

Developing more townships will definitely help in solving the issues hounding the capital, but the supply of available land in Metro Manila is running out, Bondoc noted.

Buying back donated properties in Metro Manila from the government, or building townships outside the capital region, are the options open to property firms.

Bondoc cited an idle property in Ortigas Center, Pasig City donated by a certain company to the Department of National Defense way back when the Ramos administration was in place during the early 1990s.

It would be feasible to develop the particular parcel of land as a master planned community, considering that even a relatively small property of 3.5 hectares like the Century City was transformed into a township by Century Properties Group Inc., according to Colliers.

"As long as there are residential buildings, offices, retail spaces, and medical malls it counts as township," Bondoc noted.

He encouraged the government to bid out more lands to the private sector as another revenue source for its massive infrastructure spending initiative.

"The government has a very ambitious infrastructure spending program. If it believes it needs to raise additional revenues aside from the additional taxes it expects from the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program, then, of course, it has to study the option of bidding these government properties," he added. — VDS, GMA News

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