The City of Manila stands to regain its lost image as the country’s “Pearl of the Orient” and its status as the center of economic activity once the three major reclamation projects underway in Manila Bay, particularly the multibillion-peso Solar City urban center, are completed, a city councilor said Friday.
Majority Floor Leader Councilor Casimiro Sison of the sixth district pointed out that Manila will beat its neighboring cities of Makati, Taguig, and Quezon in terms of financial growth in less than a decade’s time with these developments.
“I think we will be able to surpass all the other cities and it could be, you know, this is bringing back the ‘Pearl of the Orient’ tag Mayor [Joseph] Estrada wants for the city. This would be bringing back the status of the city of Manila as a highly progressive business and commercial center,” Sison said.
Over the years, the councilor said Manila has been overtaken by its neighbors in economic development. Makati, for instance, already has Ayala Center; Taguig has its Bonifacio Global City, and Quezon City has the Araneta Center and Eastwood commercial district, he said.
Manila, an old city, does not have its own major business hub, Sison added.
“Well, there would be a dramatic increase in all of our tax revenues. I think this can be realized later on, maybe five to six years from now,” the councilor said.
Sison said economic plans such as reclamation projects would benefit Manila. Believing they would significantly contribute to the city’s economic growth, he called on the public to support the reclamation projects.
“No more politics. Let’s just be one in these developments. And I think this is for everybody,” he said.
Addressing the issues raised by opponents of the reclamations, he said taking land from the sea is already being practiced in other countries, and no major catastrophic incidents have since been recorded.
“Well, I think they should be aware of this new kind of development. And I think this is a management of a development. Mayor Erap is high on infrastructure development. That should be done by the city of Manila,” Sison pointed out.
As the majority floor leader, Sison said the City Council has ratified the consortium agreement and the joint venture agreement signed by Manila and Solar City proponent Manila Goldcoast Development Corp. on April 7, 2012 and June 7, 2012, respectively.
Solar City is a 148-hectare, state-of-the-art, tourism, commercial and residential district that will be put up in Manila Bay to host business centers, residential and commercial properties, and tourism facilities, including an international cruise ship terminal.
Two other reclamation projects – the P7.4-billion expansion of the Manila Harbour Centre of R-II Builders, Inc. and the UAA Kinming Group Development Corp.’s 562-hectare mixed-use commercial and business district in the central area of Manila Bay – also have the go-signal of the city council, Sison added.
Echoing Estrada’s statements that these projects will bring “untold economic benefits” to the city, Sison said the 1.7 million people in Manila will be the ones to greatly benefit from it.
“It will open up thousands of job opportunities… and what’s more important, since all these are under joint venture agreements, the city government will not spend a single centavo,” he pointed out.