Pasay LGU, Pasay Harbor City joint venture for reclamation project approved

Antitrust watchdog Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) has given its approval for a joint venture between the Pasay Harbor City Corporation and the City Government of Pasay for a 265-hectare land reclamation project.

In a statement on Monday, the PCC said the approval was signed on Thursday, September 26 by Chairman Arsenio Balisacan and Commissioners Johannes Benjamin Bernabe, Amabelle Asuncion, and Macario De Claro, Jr.

"PCC's merger review found that the transaction is not likely to lead to substantial lessening of competition in the relevant market," it said.

"PCC noted that the reclaimed area will create a new market for commercial and residential real estate in Pasay City," it elaborated.

Pasay Harbor City Corporation is a partnership composed of Davao businessman Dennis Uy's Udenna Development Corp. (UDEVCO), Ulticon Buildings Inc., and China Harbour Engineering Company.

The project is an unsolicited proposal from the group, which intends to build a 265-hectare reclamation project in Manila Bay under the Pasay City Government as the implementing agency.

Once approved by the ICC, the government and the private partner will then negotiate the terms of the project.

Following this, the project will then be subject to a Swiss Challenge—the method which entails inviting other firms to make competing offers, while giving the original proponent the right to match.

According to the Philippine Reclamation Authority, there have been four Manila Bay reclamation projects accomplished so far: Central Business Park I-A (200 hectares); Central Business Park I-B&C (210 hectares); Central Business Park II (43 hectares); and Asia World (173 hectares).

Earlier this year, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año objected to the Manila Bay reclamation projects, saying that they should be shelved for the rehabilitation of the bay to succeed. — BM, GMA News