Iloilo City eyes strait for reclamation plan

BEST SPOT People flock to Fort San Pedro—one of the best spots in Iloilo City to watch the sunset—to relax and unwind. The proposed 300-hectare reclamation project being pushed by Mayor Jerry Treñas will start near this Spanish-era military fortress. —IAN PAUL CORDERO

ILOILO CITY — This city, the regional capital of Western Visayas, is eyeing to reclaim 300 hectares facing the Iloilo Strait to give way to business and residential districts and boost the local economy.

Mayor Jerry Treñas said the proposed project would be patterned after the development in Dubai where islands were created through reclamation.

“It is going to be an island so that we resolve questions on drainage, among others. It will be 20 meters away from existing informal settlers kag butangan taytay (we will put a bridge),” Treñas said in a statement issued by the city’s Public Information Office.

He said the proposed project would start with only 100 hectares and would expand gradually to develop 300 ha.

The mayor admitted that he was inspired to propose the project during his trip to Dubai last month where he attended the World Governments Summit.

Iloilo City has a total of 180 barangays with a land area of 7,834 ha. Six of its seven districts face the Iloilo Strait—Jaro, La Paz, Lapuz, City Proper, Molo and Arevalo.

The proposed reclamation project, which will host commercial and residential enclaves, will affect a section of Iloilo Strait, starting from Fort San Pedro in the city center.

Another reclamation project is also being proposed in La Paz district but this will be intended purely for industrial use. The proposal follows a public-private partnership framework.

Opportunities

Among those interested in developing the project is Cebu Landmasters Inc., which is constructing the Minglanilla Techno Business Park, a 100-ha reclamation project in Minglanilla town, Cebu.

The project, envisioned to be a techno-business park, will be composed of two islands separated by a 30-meter wide channel in coastal roads of Barangay Tulay, Calajo-an, and Tungkil in Minglanilla.

DUBAI-INSPIRED The proposed reclamation project in Iloilo City, shown in this artist’s rendition, has been inspired by the development in Dubai. —PHOTO FROMMETRO ILOILO-GUIMARAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL WEBSITE

The concept of reclamation in Iloilo was initially introduced in 2017 when the Marikudo Real Estate Development Corp. submitted a proposal to reclaim 345 ha of the Iloilo Strait.

The proposed reclamation would create a separate area from the mainland connected via a bridge.

However, the project was stalled due to a change in administration after former President Rodrigo Duterte assumed office in 2016.

READ: Iloilo business groups eye P500M in new ventures

Treñas remains hopeful that the proposed reclamation project for Iloilo City will be realized during his administration since it will mean more job opportunities for Ilonggos.

According to the mayor, while there are still available lands in the city, especially along the circumferential road, these are mostly privately owned.

He said developers would go to other areas if there were no more available properties for development in the city.

Treñas believed Iloilo City would become more attractive to investors with the reclamation project.

“We need it. Bacolod and Cebu have done it. Manila is doing it right now. We need to have more land for development. Ang Dubai ‘naobra man nila (Dubai has done it),’” he said. INQ