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FINALLY,
after two years of unsuccessful attempts to dispose the
property and two failed biddings, the Bases Conversion
and Development Authority (BCDA) has sold the
1.2-hectare Delta Lots—considered the “primest” in the
Bonifacio Global City (BGC).
Aileen
Zosa, BCDA vice president, told the BusinessMirror that
as a bonus, the property was sold at a price higher than
the required minimum bid of P1.92 billion.
Zosa
refused to name the winning bidder pending the formal
approval of the BCDA board, chaired by Al Santos, on
Tuesday.
The
winner, she said, is one of those four companies that
submitted eligibility documents to the BCDA: the Ayala
Land Inc.; the Net Group, which already has existing
projects in
Fort Bonifacio;
the Hart & Haring of Austria and the Imagine Realty
Corp., another Filipino firm.
“We got
at least one complying proposal and the
asset-disposition committee has already made the
recommendation to the BCDA board on the winning bidder,”
Zosa said.
Since
the winner complied with all the conditions of the
bidding’s terms of reference (TOR), Zosa said the BCDA
board is sure to approve the recommendation.
The
winning bid, she said, is “definitely higher” than the
minimum bid of P1.92 billion.
The
winning proponent, Zosa said, intends to begin as soon
as possible with its development of the 1.2-hectare lot
located at the gateway of the BGC City Center and across
The Fort.
The
development will have office components and a
residential facility or a hotel, or a combination of the
two. “But it will be predominantly office spaces,” Zosa
said.
BCDA,
she said, is hoping that the pro-ject would blend well
with the other future developments happening in the
area, including the proposed new building of the
Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) and Shangri-La Bonificio
nearby.
“We are
encouraging the winning proponent to integrate and
coordinate its deve-lopment with the proposed Shangri-la
and PSE building,” Zosa said.
Through
this, the BGC will be enhanced and its value maximized.
The BCDA
started to offer to the public the Delta lots in 2006,
but the property’s mortgaged issue and the stiff TOR
resulted in two failed biddings.
This
prompted the BCDA to eliminate all the kinks by relaxing
the TOR for the third bidding.
One of
the changes was the removal of the clause obliging the
winning bidder to come up with a standby credit line
worth P1 billion, from which the BCDA can draw should
there be a need to add funding for the construction of
the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx).
The BCDA
also no longer required the would-be winning bidder for
a direct sale to produce a performance bond. Also, in
case of a consortium winning the bid, the BCDA will no
longer need a joint and several liability clause. |
