BACOLOD City – This city has ruled out the plan to construct a new Burgos Market.
Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez disclosed during yesterday’s press conference that the city government’s plan to establish a new Burgos Market through a public-private partnership will not push through.
The owner of the lot where market occupants would transfer during the construction was not amenable to the proposal of the city. Supposedly, the local government will rent the two-hectare property.
“The city had proposed to the owner of the lot a PPP, but the property owner declined,” the mayor said.
Engineer Loben Ceballos, officer-in-charge of the City Engineer’s Office, earlier said the city has allocated P525 million for the rehabilitation of the Burgos Market, sourced from the P4.4 billion loan from the Development Bank of the Philippines.
As a resort, the city plans to buy the property if the owner agrees.
“We are negotiating with the lot owner. If they agree to sell their property to the city immediately, we will buy it,” Benitez added.
The city plans to acquire the property within this month to begin the market’s construction in the first quarter of this year.
The property cost based on its zonal value is P46,000 per square meter, or a total of more than P900 million.
The Burgos Public Market is one of the three major markets in this city. The two others, the Central and Libertad markets, will also undergo major renovations.
Once completed, it is expected to be one of the centers of commerce in Bacolod, with enough facilities and space./PN
