THE Provincial Board of Negros Occidental, during its regular session Wednesday, June 27, has given the governor the authority to make the negotiations for the P4 (public-private partnership in the province) project.
With an initial cost of P1.2 billion, the project will be called Capitol Commercial Center.
In the approved resolution, Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr., through the P4 Selection Committee, is now authorized to negotiate and agree with the Dynamic Builders and Construction Company on terms and conditions involving the lease of 6,484 square meters property where the Provincial Administration Center (PAC) on Gatuslao Street is located.
Acting Vice Governor Salvador Escalante Jr. said the committee composed of the Provincial Legal, Budget, Treasurer, and Accounting offices, PC, and three non-government organizations may now start the negotiation.
Escalante said the initial offer of the private company is 50 years of lease period at a rate of P78 per square per month.
"It will now up for the selection committee to negotiate, hopefully, for much better terms for the province," he said, adding that the proposal is to build a mix-use commercial structure mainly for business process outsourcing and hotel.
He recalled that it was in May that the governor received the proposal for the P4 project. Marañon then issued an Executive Order creating the selection committee.
Escalante said the Provincial Government is upbeat that the revenue to be generated from the lease contract to be entered with Dynamic Builders will help fund the development of a new PAC building.
This, he said, will complement to the income which the province can source from its other revenue-generating properties.
The provincial government earlier allotted about P180 million for the repair and construction of PAC forming part of the four major infrastructure projects worth about P500 million.
Escalante, however, said that during the inventory of space, it was found out that there is a need for additional space.
Thus, Dynamic Builders, also the contractor of the project, is willing to surrender the contract without additional cost to the province, Escalante said.
"In lieu of the contract, the firm offers the P4 project," he said, adding that there will be a brand new six-story building for the PAC that will also house other provincial government offices at about one-hectare area plus the additional 3,000 square meters fronting the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)-Bacolod.
It will be subjected to another bidding process, Escalante said.
The Provincial Engineer's Office has yet to get the approval of the governor before making out to the public the perspective of the project.
But the plan and detailed engineering are now 90 percent complete, Escalante said.
For the P4 project, which is positioned to complement the PAC development, the 50-year lease payment of Dynamic Builders will start in the third year after the awarding of the contract.
"The provincial government, for sure, will also have its share for the construction subject to the impending negotiation," he added.
