BCDA readies sale of 2 properties worth P60B

The Bases Conversion and Development Authority hopes to auction within the year two prime pieces of property within the former Fort Bonifacio that can bring in roughly P60 billion in revenues for the incoming administration.

In a briefing Tuesday, BCDA president and CEO Arnel Paciano D. Casanova said the plan was to auction about five of the 47 hectares comprising the Navy Lot, which was earlier claimed by a group of retired military officers called the Navy Officers’ Village Association Inc. (Novai).

BCDA has secured its ownership of the property after the Supreme Court denied with finality the motion for reconsideration sought by Novai.

“We are changing our strategy in disposing land. We are dividing this in smaller parcels of land as we believe that at the peak of the market, you can have more value if you allow more competition to come in. We already have a master plan for this, but we will revisit it. The plan for now is to not dispose it as a whole block,” Casanova said.

“We’re looking at disposing at least 5 ha of this property. We’re just waiting for the assumption of the new leadership so we can inform them of our plans and the opportunities that we can tap. We will also have the lot reappraised as the value around the Bonifacio Global City has been increasing because there is so much demand for land and especially since this area has immediate access to major roads, is near the airport and the central business districts,” he explained.

The 5 ha of land that will be bid out will have commercial, residential and office components.

The BCDA also plans to sell the 33-ha Bonifacio South Pointe, which is still the subject of legal tussle as the agency wanted the Supreme Court to allow it to conduct a competitive public bidding instead of a Swiss Challenge.

It can be recalled that earlier last year, the Supreme Court Special Third Division released a 13-page decision, which affirmed a previous ruling ordering the BCDA to subject the Bonifacio South Pointe lot to a Swiss challenge based on an unsolicited proposal from SM Land.

Meanwhile, BCDA disclosed that it was moving forward with plans to develop five idle camps of the Armed Forces of the Philippines into agro-industrial zones.

This is seen as an effective way to help spur economic activities in the countryside and ensure a more inclusive growth.