ALI to develop a central business district in QC

Ayala Land Inc. and a housing agency will be partnering to turn a huge lot at the North Triangle Property, near Trinoma, into a central business district in Quezon City. Property giant ALI told the Philippine Stock Exchange on Friday that it signed a joint venture agreement on August 27, 2009 with the National Housing Authority to develop the 29.1-hectare property as a “priming project of the government and the private sector." The total project cost is estimated at P22 billion, inclusive of future development costs and the current value of the property, which ALI and the NHA will contribute as their respective equity share in the joint venture. ALI expects to start development within two years. The joint venture represents the conclusion of a public bidding process conducted by the NHA which began on October 3, 2008. ALI’s proposal, which was approved and declared by the NHA as compliant with the Terms of Reference of the public bidding and the NEDA (National Economic and Development Authority) Joint Venture Guidelines. The CBD will be developed as the Philippines’ first transit-oriented mixed use central business district that will be a new nexus of commercial activity. The proposal also aims to benefit the NHA in achieving its mandate of providing housing for informal settlers and transforming a non-performing asset into a model for urban renewal. The development will also generate jobs as well as revenues for both the local and national governments. Company officials told GMANews.TV that the development will feature a residential component – which could either be high-rise or mid-rise projects. NHA will undertake within two years the relocation of about 9,000 families who presently occupy the property. “ALI’s vision for the Property is consistent with the mandate of the Urban Triangle Development (TriDev) Commission to rationalize and speed up the development of the East and North Triangles of Quezon City into well-planned, integrated and environmentally balanced, mixed-use communities," the company said. The joint venture also conforms with the NHA’s vision of a private sector-led and managed model for the development of the Property, similar to the development experience in Fort Bonifacio. In the development and management of CBDs, ALI’s signature projects include the master-planned Makati CBD, Bonifacio Global City, Cebu Business Park, and Madrigal Business Park in Alabang. On Friday, ALI’s shares closed flat at P10.75 each. Cheryl M.Arcibal, GMANews.TV