FIVE big developers are expected to submit "unsolicited" proposals to rebuild war-torn Marawi City by January 15, housing czar Eduardo del Rosario revealed on Friday, January 5.
Del Rosario, chairperson of Task Force Bangon Marawi, declined to identify the developers but one would be awarded by mid-April the contract to rehabilitate Marawi.
The winning developer, Del Rosario said, would rehabilitate a 250-hectare area in Marawi that is deemed as "most affected" during the five-month battle between the government forces and the pro-Islamic State (IS) terrorists.
"I think it's premature to name (the developers) but it is safe to say that we have five big developers. They will be submitting their unsolicited proposals by January 15," he said.
"And based on the study of our experts, we met last Wednesday (January 3) and yesterday (January 4), the earliest time that we can start with actual groundwork is April 15. Now, how will it go? We will select from those five. We organized a technical working group to select from the five based on their submission," he added.
Marawi, home to 200,000 individuals, was under siege by the Maute Group, which went on a rampage after a military operation failed to arrest terrorist leader Isnilon Hapilon.
Fighting broke out on May 23, 2017, but government troops were able to retake the city on October 23 the same year.
The Marawi war took the lives of more than 1,000 individuals, including security troops who fought the local and foreign terrorists.
According to the Task Force Bangon Marawi's post-conflict needs assessment, the Marawi crisis resulted in P11.61-billion total damage and over P6.6-billion total losses.
Communications Assistant Secretary Ana Marie Banaag, at the same press conference, said a total of 800 transitional shelters -- 500 and 300 in Marawi's Sagonsongan village and in Matungao, Lanao del Norte, respectively -- had already been turned over to displaced Marawi residents.
Del Rosario said the proposals would be subjected to a Swiss Challenge, a procurement process that allows the government to receive an unsolicited bid for a project and after publishing its details, invite third parties to match or even exceed the offer.
He said the selection of one developer was meant to make the Marawi rehabilitation "synchronized."
"Once we have selected the original proponent, the original proponent and technical working group will sit down, come up with the details, terms of reference, and scope of work," Del Rosario said.
"The massive land development (in Marawi) -- the installation of power cable and water line, and road projects -- to make it synchronized, it will be orchestrated by one developer only," he added. (SunStar Philippines)