Eight firms submit letters of intent for Fort Bonifacio property

REPORT FROM BUSINESSWORLD TOP PROPERTY developers in the country are eyeing the Bases Conversion Development Authority’s (BCDA) P2-billion prime lot in the Bonifacio Global City. BCDA Vice-President for Business Development Aileen R. Zosa said in a statement that eight companies had submitted letters of intent during a pre-bidding conference last Sept. 10. BCDA oversees development of former military lands. The property set for sale or joint venture is part of the state-owned agency’s asset disposition program. The 1.2-hectare lot, known as the expanded big delta lots and formerly the Government Center for Investments, is for mixed-use development. It covers a minimum bid price of P160,000 per square meter. Ms. Zosa said BCDA stands to earn a minimum of P1.9 billion from the disposition. Those who participated in the pre-bidding conference were Ayala Land, Inc., Singaporean firm Ascendas, Century Properties, Inc., Filinvest Land, Inc., IPM Realty Corp., Landco Pacific Corp., Net Group, and Robinson’s Land Corp. Ms. Zosa said BCDA had extended the deadline for the issuance of the terms of reference until Friday while submission of proposals was set on Nov. 5. The property could be developed into residential, office and commercial or retail complex. "Developers can avail of incentives from the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) if the project is qualified and registered under PEZA rules and law," Ms. Zosa said. She added that the lot is located at the e-square area, which is classified as a PEZA economic zone. "The lot is the remaining lot in e-square since most of the e-square lots were already sold by Fort Bonifacio Development Corp. to third party buyers," BCDA President Narciso L. Abaya added. The BCDA earlier said it generated a total of P38.3 billion from its asset disposition program as of Aug. 31. It said 80% of the total or P30.36 billion came from Fort Bonifacio, P4.78 billion from lease and joint ventures, P1.9 billion from sales proceeds, and P1.245 billion from securitization of assets. From 2006 to 2007, 52 projects were completed, among them Serendra, Forbeswood Heights, Kensington, Bellagio, Fairways, among others; office buildings such as Net Square, Hanjin Philippines, and the Singapore Chancery. Also included are retail and office developments like Bonifacio High Street. The Bonifacio Global City boasts of a central location that is a few minutes away from the Makati Central Business District, the NAIA Terminal 3, C-5 and the Ortigas area. The Global City also boasts of world-class infrastructure that includes an underground drainage detention structure with the capacity to hold 22 million liters of water and release it under controlled conditions to prevent floods. — Bernardette S. Sto. Domingo/BusinessWorld