Thursday, December 06, 2007 SM City says it doesn’t affect business operations but mall wants premises clean By Linette C. Ramos Sun.Star Staff Reporter
RESIDENTS of slum areas at the Cebu City north reclamation area (NRA) may have gotten used to the stench near the sewage treatment plant, but the odor has become unbearable for passersby and business establishments.
The management of SM City Cebu has complained to City Hall about the odor, which city officials blamed on garbage, untreated wastewater and the unsanitary squatters’ dwellings in the area.
In July last year, SM City advanced the City Government some P53.9 million in taxes, which was supposed to be used for beautification projects, including the improvement of roads and removal of garbage and vendors from the NRA.
City Administrator Francisco Fernandez said he received a complaint from SM City, which recently opened its upscale P1.3-billion expansion project facing the area where the odor comes from.
Fernandez said the stench may be coming from wastewater, which has been left untreated for some time because of defective equipment.
The blower of the pump at the treatment plant was damaged three months ago, causing disruptions in the operations.
“I got the complaint today and we’re going to respond immediately. We will repair whatever needs to be repaired by tomorrow,” Fernandez told Sun.Star Cebu.
Jeepney passengers, motorists and pedestrians passing by Kaohsiung St. at the NRA can’t help but flinch at the smell, which was first noticed last August yet.
City Councilor Nestor Archival said the defective equipment was first brought up to the Solid Waste Management Board three months ago.
Paperwork
The purchase request for the spare parts was already approved but other paperwork delayed the procurement, he said. The repair cost the City Government some P3 million.
Archival said, though, that the stench may not be coming from the untreated wastewater alone.
“We have not identified where the odor is really coming from. It could be the wastewater but it could also be the dead animals thrown in the area, the garbage or the waste from the squatters’ area,” he said in a phone interview.
Sherry Tuvilla, SM City mall manager, said the stench does not affect their business operations, but they want to keep their surroundings clean with the City’s help, which is part of the agreement on the advanced tax payment.
“We just want them to clear the area of vendors, garbage and squatters because that would contribute to the odor. There’s also the odor coming from the sewage treatment plant. We hope they can fix it because that is part of the package on the early tax payment,” she explained.
At the time they paid their taxes for 2007 in July last year, SM specifically asked City Hall to allocate P1 million of its payment for the relocation of the squatters and vendors.
The rest of the amount is supposed to be used for the NRA rehabilitation project, such as improving drainage, concreting surrounding roads, installing additional and enhanced streetlights and replacing road signs.
Tuvilla said they will continue to cooperate with the City on the improvement of the sewage treatment plant since 90 percent of the wastewater treated there comes from SM City Cebu.
