THERE’S no denying that the island of Mactan has been among the fastest growing areas in the province, its economic development driven mainly by tourism and the presence of the international airport that will soon be named after the chieftain considered as responsible for the defeat and death of the Portuguese explorer working for the Spanish crown, Ferdinand Magellan.
The economic growth, though, has been uneven and favored Lapu-Lapu City, the larger of the two local government units sharing the island. This does not mean that Cordova town didn’t grow economically. In fact it has gone a long way from being the rustic enclave that it was once. Just compare the town center now to the town center of about three decades ago.
But economic growth in Mactan was always faster in Lapu-Lapu City than in Cordova. That is sure to change with the initiatives pursued by former Cordova mayor Adelino Sitoy that is expected to shift the center of growth from the islands southwest portion to the northeast once the third Cebu-Mactan bridge, called the Cordova-Cebu Link Expressway is built. The bridge links Cebu City to Mactan.
Sitoy’s initiatives, though, goes beyond the construction of the bridge and into the reconfiguration of Cordova through the planned 1,500-hectare reclamation project that would allow major investors to participate in mapping the town’s growth. Sitoy, who is head of the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office, outlined the plan recently to SunStar’s Elias Baquero.
There is a need, though, to temper the excitement, especially on the reclamation project and the “big plans” for its development once it is completed. Experience has shown us that it would be wrong to rush headlong into a major project without first ascertaining not only its feasibility but also whether it would be fully beneficial to the people, notably the constituents in Cordova.
Major projects must be objectively assessed by competent people because there would be no turning back once these are started and contracts are signed.