BAYBAY CITY – After fighting a long battle for its cityhood and finally achieving it, Mayor Carmen L. Cari here said “it’s all systems go” for all their development projects, a major one which is the reclamation of 9-hectares of land at the portion where its famed barbecue stalls on stilts are now.
They are inviting prospective investors to check out their development program, adding that Metro Gaisano has even proposed to fund the reclamation. However, “we wanted no strings attached and full control, so we decided that it will be the city to do it”, she said.
As of now, they haven’t made any commitments to any group interested in putting up development projects in the area. She said they are waiting for the “best offer”. They welcome all schemes like Build-Operate-Transfer, or variations thereof, as long as it will bring in economic activity to the city. “We will try to make the entry of business here easy and attractive for them”, she said, because ultimately, it will redound to the good of the new city.
“More busineses, more jobs. More jobs means less unemployed Baybayanons. More employed people would mean more taxes. More taxes, more projects for the city”, the mayor added, saying with the proper policies, Baybay could be Leyte’s new growth area.
Even before it became a city, Baybay already had an investment code, attracting two big industrial locators to its identified industrial zone in Brgy. Caridad. As of present, Baybay has a City Land Use Plan crafted during the time of Mayor Michael Cari, who is incumbent vice-mayor. The CLUP is their “Bible” for development and among its salient recommendations is the reclamation project which will not only decongest the city but become the new business hub.
As for the fate of its famed barbecue stalls, they will have to relocate themselves in the meantime, said Cari, but promised they can return to their “stalls on stilts” by the new shoreline after the reclamation is finished. She estimates the reclamation will be finished in a year’s time, “even less”, because they wanted it finished early.
Cari added that when they return, it would be to a city-developed facility that would be improved, functional and beautiful. Cari said they know Baybay’s chicken barbecues are famed, and they would want it to continue as a local tourist drawer.
By that time, however, the vendors will have to pay rent. Mayor Cari said it may come as a surprise to other LGU’s but the barbecue stalls on stilts which have been in the area for about five years now were operating their businesses “free of rent”.
Mayor Cari said that when the area was identified for the barbecue vendors, they were forewarned to construct their eateries using light materials only because once the City has funds to reclaim the area, they will have to relocate without a squeak. The only thing they pay, said the mayor, are their business permits.
As of press time, the vendors have started dismantling their stalls. While they have been given the option to find new locations of their own choice, the city has identified a vacant lot within the city which can be developed by the barbecue vendors’ association into a temporary barbecue paradise. “It’s really up to them”, said the mayor, adding she did not want to force the issue lest her motives are misconstrued as the property is owned by their family.
“We suggested they take a look at the place. For me, if they choose that option, it’s something good for the city because the area will be cleaned up and inhabited”. She said that because it has been a vacant lot for a long time, it has been overgrown with bushes and shrubs and has reportedly become the haunt of local thugs. By Lalaine M. Jimenea
Baybay City to reclaim 9 hectares, invites investors for proposals
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