P20-B Cebu town reclamation project gets PRA nod

CEBU CITY – The Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) has finally approved the PHP20-billion Ming-Mori reclamation project in the southern town of Minglanilla in Cebu. 

The development of the 100-hectare Minglanilla Techno-Business Park marked a strategic milestone on Friday with the signing of a memorandum of agreement between the local government and the PRA.

The town was represented by Mayor Elanito Peña and the PRA by general manager and CEO, lawyer Janilo Rubiato. 

Witness to the signing ceremony in Citadines Cebu City was Cebu Landmasters Inc. (CLI) CEO Jose Soberano III, chairman and president of CLI affiliate Ming-Mori Development Corp. 

CLI will be the developer and manager of the 100-hectare technohub envisioned to be a regional growth center designed to be sustainable and responsive to the environment.

PRA coordinates and administers all reclamation projects nationwide and approval of the development indicates that the government has thoroughly evaluated the undertaking. 

Because many stakeholders are consulted, PRA’s process takes years. 

In 2020, the Ming-Mori project was issued an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) after more than five years of a rigid and comprehensive review.

“The project will take CLI to a brand-new level and widen the range of our customer base to include light-industrial and technology-driven companies,” Soberano said during the press conference at the MOA signing. 

“We aim to achieve a balanced and mutually supporting relationship between urban mixed-use development, light-industrial land use and environmental stewardship. This will be our formula for sustainable growth and development,” he added.

He said this is one of CLI’s biggest projects to date. 

Because of the scale of this project that will take several phases to develop, the company has carefully and meticulously planned it to be “sustainable and supportive of future generations,” he noted. 

The Cebuano businessman said the publicly listed firm is fully equipped to develop and manage this high capital project with the solid support of equity and bank partners. 

Early this year, the Cebu-based company secured PHP3 billion through the issuance of corporate notes at a very competitive rate to fund early works for Ming-Mori beginning in the fourth quarter in 2021. 

CLI has also strengthened its capital base by declaring 123 percent stock dividends to shareholders on record as of June 18, which will be paid on or before July 14. This move prepares the firm for any capital raising in the future.

The estate’s proximity to Cebu City makes it a highly viable location for light manufacturing industries especially now that the province’s main industrial parks are fully occupied. 

Ming-Mori will also have its own port facilities to link it with the global economy.

To further attract locators, Ming-Mori’s first phase will include commercial, residential and institutional zones “to create enough diversity to make it a vibrant community at the outset,” Soberano said.

Jobs from light manufacturing firms will initially draw workers and their families into the area to create a critical mass of residents supported by residential and commercial areas, schools, churches, and other institutions. 

As more areas become available and are developed, CLI envisions a vibrant waterfront community with lifestyle, business and industry woven together.

Peña said the Ming-Mori Techno Business Park is the “long-awaited realization of a dream of many Minglanillahanons that would later become a representation of the progress that all of us will be forever grateful for.” 

The Minglanilla Techno Business Park has been masterplanned by globally acclaimed Singapore-based Surbana Jurong Consultants, one of the most successful urban and infrastructure consulting firms in Asia with projects in over 30 countries. (PNA)

 

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https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1143361
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