|
DELAY
OF WORK RESUMPTION SEEN
Agora consortium
partner backs out
The
eyesore generated by the unfinished Agora will remain just
that-eyesore, after one of the consortium partners reportedly
backed out from participating to its completion.
It
was pleasant to hear during the Mayor's Report last week when
City Mayor Dan Neri Lim announced that resumption of work
in the Agora would start the week after.
But
nothing of that nature came into view as the Agora remains
the same old, unfinished structure. Agora watchers were expecting
a beehive of construction activities since last week in consonance
to the city mayor's radio announcement.
Completion
of the Agora became a pain in the ass of at least two city
hall administrations after it was marred by setback after
setback.
Constructed during the administration of city mayor Jose Torralba
and after spending more than P40 million, the unfinished market
was the object of criticisms of concerned Tagbilaranons.
|
|
|
When
Mayor Lim was elected into office in 2004, he made the
Agora completion as his top priority.
Motivated
by the best of intentions, he assembled a group of businessmen
not from the city for a built, operate, transfer mode.
The deal costs P70 million.
Dubbed
as Tagbilaran Business Center, the city stands to benefit
at least P5 million a month for a period of 25 years
out of the BOT scheme.
The
latest snag that bedevils its completion was the reported
break-up of the three-man consortium.
|
Reports
reaching the Post yesterday showed that Juanito Lim, a Zamboanga-
based businessman and owner of the Aldea Photo Shop reportedly
severed his relationship with two of his consortium partners
identified as Beng Ho, a contractor and Ko Bing Sum, owner
of Unitop Tagbilaran.
Pooling
their resources, they would have provided the completion touches
of what looked like the skeletal remains of the city Agora.
But
it appeared that their partnership was not build to last.
In
an interview with the Aldea owner, he said he lost interest
in joining the consortium after a disagreement with his two
other associates in relation to the building design.
Work
of the Agora was stopped last year after city hall authorities
did not agree with its building design. No work had since
been in motion since it was stopped last year.
The
two other consortium participants-Ho and Sum are supposed
to arrive here tomorrow apparently to thresh out some partnership
kinks.
The
Aldea owner is also the developer of the defunct Torralba
Private Market. In its place is a multi door commercial building,
now on its finishing phase of construction.
It
was reported that the Torralba developer was having as falling
out with Mayor Lim after it was gathered that the original
plan of the commercial space provider was to construct a high
rise hotel.
Mayor
Lim reportedly balked of the hotel idea saying that the high
rise site is the flight path of airliners plying the Manila-Tagbilaran-Manila
route.
The
incident was enough to make their business partnership turn
sour.
|
