MALL BUILDER DDT KONSTRACT INC. bagged the P1.2-billion contract to rebuild the historic Ayuntamiento building in Intramuros.

The building, under the plan, will become the home of the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr).

The reconstruction and restoration of ?what was probably the most beautiful building of Manila,? which was reduced to ruins by heavy bombings during the Second World War, broke ground Thursday.

National Treasurer Roberto B. Tan said the new building would also house a branch of the state-run Landbank of the Philippines and possibly a satellite Office of the Secretary of Finance.

Tan said the resurrected Ayuntamiento ?will become a symbol of our great heritage.?

Finance Secretary Margarito B. Teves, who was present in the groundbreaking ceremony, said the long-awaited building will be ?an appropriate home for the custodians of the people?s money.?

According to Danilo D. Tamayo, president and chair of DDT Konstract, the construction proper will start on Dec. 9 and is expected to be completed by the end of 2011.

?We will restore the grandeur of the old Ayuntamiento,? Tamayo said. This is important considering that ?the buildings in front of it?like the Palacio del Gobernador and the Manila Cathedral? are Spanish-inspired.?

Tamayo said this project was his company?s first with the government, adding that DDT Konstract won the bidding for the contract on the strength of its track record.

DDT Konstract has built projects with big developers like Ayala Land and SM Prime Holdings.

Included in the firm?s portfolio are the SM malls, specifically the Mall of Asia in Pasay City, and the Ayala group?s Greenbelt 5 in Makati City.

DDT Konstract also built a high-rise condominium (Lancaster Suites Tower 1 in Mandaluyong City), a church (St. Joseph Church in Echague, Isabela), a school (St. Scholastica?s College in Cavite) and the Ayala Underpass along Edsa.

The company bested four rivals in the bid for the contract?A.M. Oreta & Co. Inc., Hilmarcs Construction Corp., DM Consunji Inc., and Young Builders Corp.

Originally known as the Marble Palace, the Ayuntamiento was completed in 1738.

The 5,600 square-meter site is at the corner of Andres Soriano Avenue and Cabildo Street.

The Ayuntamiento housed various government divisions of the Spanish administration, including the city hall and central government offices of Manila. It was damaged during an earthquake in 1863.