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THE
Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) will
decide within the month if it will still stick to its
former decision of disposing of the 8-hectare North
Bonifacio lot through a public bidding or just entertain
unsolicited proposals similar to what Chinese giant
developer Shimao Group earlier dangled.
Aileen
Zosa, BCDA vice president, told the BusinessMirror that
with the Guidelines on Joint Ventures (JV) issued by
Neda already in effect on May 2, the agency’s option is
no longer confined to public bidding, which was the case
in March, when it announced that the
North Bonifacio property will be disposed of through bidding.
“The
BCDA will finalize within the month the mode of
disposition, as well as the disposition rules,” Zosa
said.
She
added that, technically, there is no unsolicited
proposal in the table of the BCDA because it already
rejected the initial proposal of Shimao to put up an
integrated development in the area worth $2 billion.
If the
agency decides to entertain fresh proposals, Shimao will
have to submit its new offer.
On the
other hand, should the BCDA opt to go for a public
bidding, Zosa said Shimao can also participate in it.
The BCDA
earlier rejected Shimao’s unsolicited proposal because
of the absence of the Neda JV guidelines, which would
have prescribed the rules for a possible Swiss
challenge.
However,
Shimao’s offer was brought back to life during President
Arroyo’s recent official trip in Hong Kong, wherein
Malacañang announced that the Chinese firm is ready to
join the circle of billion-dollar investors in the
country.
Zosa
said the BCDA will have to come up with the decision on
how to dispose of the North Bonifacio property and the
accompanying rules so it could meet its schedule of
disposing it within the year.
“It
takes us about three months to dispose a property so to
comply with our disposition schedule, we need to decide
on this matter soon,” Zosa said.
The
North Bonifacio lots now comprise the area that will see
rapid developments as big companies like Metrobank, with
its proposed Iconic Tower, and the Grand Hyatt Hotel are
already developing their respective sites.
The BCDA
earlier said the eight-hectare
North Bonifacio lots can be sold at P34,000 per square meter on a raw
land basis, and up to P100,000 if developed. |
