CLI aims to begin 100-hectare Cebu reclamation project by Q4

A consortium led by property developer Cebu Landmasters Inc. (CLI) expects to start by the fourth quarter of this year the reclamation of 100 hectares of land in the municipality of Minglanilla, Cebu, a P10-billion project seen to create a self-contained township envisioned to create new economic opportunities in the region.

After getting the imprimatur of the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA), CLI chair and chief executive Jose Soberano III said during the company’s stockholders meeting on Thursday he was hoping the “highly anticipated” project would start by year’s end.

“This development will be a real addition to the Cebu landscape. It will be partly industrial and will help expand supply in MEPZ (Mactan Export Processing Zone), which is now full up,” Soberano said in a briefing after the stockholders meeting. “It will create quite a stir in the economic scene of Cebu.”

Soberano said CLI would still need to formalize a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with PRA and the municipality of Minglanilla, as well as another MOA between PRA and Ming-Mori Development Corp., before a notice of award is issued.

Soberano said the pandemic had delayed the signing of the MOAs to June 11.

The project will be undertaken by a consortium of five to six Cebuano firms, led by CLI as project manager. There are ongoing talks to increase CLI’s stake in the project to 51 percent.

The development will include a port and mid-rise condominium buildings. CLI envisions a world-class estate that will generate over 75,000 jobs in the municipality.

Last year, the CLI-led consortium obtained the environmental clearance needed to proceed with the reclamation project after a comprehensive two-year review by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

The proximity of the upcoming estate to Cebu City is seen to make it an ideal location for a master-planned community with live-work-play opportunities for its residents and visitors.

Meanwhile, Soberano also announced the launch of the Abaca tourism project by the third quarter of this year.

To recall, CLI signed in 2019 a deal to acquire Abaca Resort Mactan, a beachfront boutique resort in Cebu, which it plans to expand to a 100-room all-suite luxury resort.

Prior to CLI’s takeover, the resort only had nine rooms on a 4,328-square meter property in the Punta Engano area, one of the few remaining prime areas in Mactan with an oceanfront.

Soberano also announced a number of potential acquisitions in the pipeline in its bailiwick.

He also expressed confidence CLI could return to its 15-20 percent growth target this year.