The Iloilo city government formally awarded the 25-year lease agreement for the redevelopment of its two public markets to SM Prime Holdings, Inc. (SMPHI) with an initial P3 billion investment that stands to benefit around 2,800 market vendors.
Mayor Jerry Treñas said the redevelopment of the Iloilo Central and Terminal markets is one of the areas where the local government sought help from the Public Private Partnership (PPP) Center when he entered his administration.
“To SM Prime Holdings, my utmost gratitude to you for being our partners in this PPP project that ensures to improve business activities and help alleviate poverty among our 2,800 vendors,” Treñas said in his message given during a ceremony held at the Park Inn by Radisson Iloilo.
SMPHI president Jeffrey Lim said they are grateful for the opportunity to work with the city in redeveloping the markets and contribute to the development goals of the city.
“By helping modernize the public markets and planning to restore the heritage building in the central market side, we will be able to preserve the identity of the development sites and showcase its grand architecture.”
“By helping modernize the public markets and planning to restore the heritage building in the central market side, we will be able to preserve the identity of the development sites and showcase its grand architecture to the locals, the tourists, and the rest of the Philippines,” Lim stressed.
In a press conference that followed, Treñas said they would submit the lease contract to the city council for confirmation which would pave the way for the start of the rehabilitation.
“Consultations were conducted with the vendors and their inputs to be included during the construction.”
He added that consultations were conducted with the vendors and their inputs to be included during the construction.
Lim said their initial investment proposal is P1.5 billion for each of the two projects or a total of P3 billion.
“The designs are being finalized now and it will be discussed with (the) mayor and the city so we can come up with nice development that is acceptable to the city and therefore the amount can actually change. However, given what I have seen in terms of the increases in construction cost because of the inflation and higher cost of materials, that can actually go to probably P2 billion or even P2.5 billion per structure,” he added.
SM Supermall president Steven Tan said their Iloilo market projects are not their first PPP engagement in the country as they have one in Dasmariñas, Cavite which resulted in a drastic improvement in the public market business.
