Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said on Friday, January 19, that an overall master plan for Bacolod City is needed before proposed reclamation projects are approved.
Almana Property and Development Corporation submitted an unsolicited proposal to Benitez for the creation of the Almana Global Business District Project, which includes the reclamation and development of foreshore lands along the coastline of Brgy. 16, Bacolod City, Ritchie Neil Corpus, APDC president and chief executive officer, said earlier.
In a letter to the mayor dated January 8, Corpus said that they have yet to receive a reply from lawyer Romeo Carlos Ting Jr., who is the Secretariat of the Bacolod City Public-Private Partnership for the People (P4) Committee.
Benitez said “the way we will move forward with the reclamation, we will have to have an overall master plan” for the city.
Benitez said he is trying to get a master planner on board “so our development will not be chop suey”.
The master plan will consider everything, including environmental impacts, he said.
“Even before we say yes to a possible development let’s come up with a master plan so we won’t be shooting from the hip,” Benitez said.
What was granted to BREDCO was the rehabilitation of its roll on-roll off port, Benitez said.*