Tuesday, April 01, 2008 Private lot owner okays new lane
PRIVATE landowners’ cooperation will pave the way for the opening soon of a new lane for motorists, as work on the P86.8-million flyover unfolds in Banilad.
Rep. Raul del Mar (Cebu City, north) helped the construction of the flyover to proceed on schedule by securing yesterday an entry permit from Sulpicio Shipping Lines Inc. for its property at the construction area.
Contractor WTG Construction and Development Corp. earlier reported a problem because it has to close the remaining north-bound lane this week as work on the 390-meter flyover progresses.
It needed permission from the owners of three crucial lots to use their properties to create a new lane for vehicles to use.
The owners of lots affected by the road expansion to complement the flyover work have objected to the P15,500-per-square meter valuation for their properties.
Almost all, though, already agreed to sell “under protest” and to have the court decide how much the Departments of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) should pay them.
There were demands that the properties should be bought at P25,000 per square meter.
City Administrator Francisco Fernandez yesterday said the DPWH Legal Officer and project spokesperson Agustinito Hermoso told them that two lot owners already gave their consent and that the required paperwork is being finalized.
What remained was the Sulpicio lot, he said.
Del Mar said he came from a meeting with the Sulpicios yesterday morning and managed to secure the entry permit, which he will personally give to the DPWH. In turn, the agency will hand it over to WTG.
The flyover, which has seen its share of controversy over objections by residents and establishment owners, is being funded through del Mar’s Priority Development Assistance Found (PDAF).
DPWH is following the P15,500-per-square meter Bureau of Internal Revenue zonal valuation of properties along Gov. Mariano Cuenco Ave. near the Banilad Town Centre.
From 3,450 to P15,500 per square meter, the valuation caught the DPWH 7 by surprise since it was a 350-percent increase in the zonal value of properties in Banilad last October.
It would have caused a delay in the expansion of the road leading to the Mahiga Bridge and the Foodland complex if not for del Mar’s intervention.
The expansion complements the flyover, which will span Gov. Cuenco Ave. from the vicinity of Mahiga Bridge (by the Gaisano Country Mall) beyond the A.S. Fortuna St. intersection.
Del Mar had asked Rep. Edcel Lagman, House committee on appropriations chairman, to have P50 million inserted in the country’s 2008 budget during the House and Senate conference committee hearings last January.
The DPWH 7 needed the amount to pay for at least 7,400 square meters of private properties that will be used as road right-of-way.
Del Mar was told after both Senate and the Lower House had reconciled their budget versions that the money was reflected in the budget submitted to President Arroyo for her signature.
“The road that is being used by vehicles in going to Talamban will be closed for the (heavy) equipment. The contractor can now create another lane for the vehicles,” del Mar said yesterday. (RHM)
