P15 million earmarked for Convention repairs

THE City Government has allocated a P15-million budget for the immediate repair of the more than 30-year-old Baguio Convention Center.

Mayor Mauricio Domogan said the budget can only cover immediate repairs needed for the dilapidated facility.

Facilities up for repair are the comfort rooms, carpet, leaking roofs, lighting and surrounding gardens of the Convention Center, long neglected.

He said no major improvements will be done on the structure of the Baguio Convention Center.

The City Government has been receiving numerous complaints about the poor state of the Convention Center, where most of the major activities and programs in the region and the city are held.

Meanwhile, buses temporarily occupying the parking lot surrounding the facility will be asked to vacate the area come August 1 as the Governor Pack Road opens to traffic after a major road re-blocking project by the Department of Public Works and Highways.

The City Government has opened the 10,000-square-meter Baguio Convention Center for a possible public-private partnership to undertake its complete rehabilitation and turn it into an income-generating asset.

The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Baguio earlier expressed interest in operating and managing the convention center, but the group said they will have to conduct feasibility studies first if their venture would be profitable and a substantial return of investment will be reached by the partnership.

The City Government acquired full ownership of the Baguio Convention Center from the Government Service Insurance System in 2011 after full payment of more than P200 million on installment basis from city shares from the Bases Conversion Development Authority.