THE provincial government is now exploring means to increase the income of the Negros First Cyber Centre (NFCC).
This as the current income of the cyber centre is not enough to pay for the monthly amortization of the loan that funded its construction, Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said.
Lacson said that the facility owned by the provincial government “is not earning enough.”
I am studying options on how it can increase its income, the governor said.
The Negros First Cyber Centre is a 2.2-hectare mixed-use IT-business process outsourcing complex accredited by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority in September 2011.
The facility can house up to 10 small-scale BPO firms with a maximum of 3,000 work stations. It also has about 50 rentable commercial spaces.
Its construction costs P620 million from a P243.63-million loan from the state-owned Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP).
An additional P170 million was needed for its second phase, which included the construction of a power house and the development of a parking space.
It was projected to generate an annual gross rental income of about P90 million and about 6,000 direct jobs and 20,000 indirect jobs in the first five years.
In 2016, then Negros Occidental governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. said the Sosa JB, CPRMCI and Compact Builder consortium would take over the operation, development, and management of the NFCC.
After the first two years of operations, the NFCC earnings are expected to be enough to pay for the annual provincial government bank loan for its construction, Marañon said.
However, Provincial Administrator lawyer Rayfrando Diaz said the provincial government has only been given a percentage of the lease payments on the NFCC that, so far, is not enough to pay for the loan for its construction.
Cadiz City Mayor Salvador Escalante, defended the construction of the facility.
Escalante said the projects of the past administration “are long term investments that you don’t expect to recoup in several short years.”
“Looking into the whole project in terms of cash flow is a narrow perspective of looking into the total wisdom behind the project,” Escalante, a former board member during the Marañon administration, said.
The project is aimed at “jump-starting the ICT-BPO industry of the province for one was the intention,” he said.