A 23-hectare property that currently houses the headquarters of the Philippine Navy will be disposed for mixed-use development by state-run Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) this year.
BCDA president and chief executive Arnel Paciano D. Casanova told the Inquirer that the master plan for the so-called Navy lots within Lot 1 in Fort Bonifacio has already been drawn by the Philippine Navy.
“We just need the approval of the President. The disposition of the Navy lots has been recommended by the Navy and endorsed by BCDA and the Department of National Defense,” Casanova said.
“It’s a go within the year, that’s our target,” he added.
The value of the property is yet to be determined as it will be reappraised to reflect the prevailing market prices of adjacent prime properties in the Bonifacio Global City.
The property will undergo public bidding, Casanova said, citing that “as much as possible, Swiss challenge or unsolicited proposals for projects like that are being discouraged.”
This month, BCDA will also bid out a 5,000-square meter lot located beside the McKinley West development along Lawton Avenue. “We haven’t published yet its TOR (terms of reference), but we will publish it within the month,” Casanova said.
Since there was no opposition to the disposition of the Navy Lots, Casanova is confident that it not go through the same route as two other properties also within Bonifacio Global City that are currently being litigated in court.
Casanova said BCDA is hopeful that the Supreme Court will soon come out with rulings on both cases, which involve the 33.1-hectare Bonifacio South Pointe property and the 25-hectare Navy Village area.
It can be recalled that after the government turned down SM Land Inc.’s unsolicited proposal for Bonifacio South, the property developer then secured an injunction from the Supreme Court that delayed the bidding for the lot. BCDA had claimed that SM Land’s offer of P38,500 per sq m was below the agency’s minimum bid price of about P40,000 per sq m.