BACOLOD CITY - Local officials here led the groundbreaking for the construction of the Silay City Government Center in Negros Occidental which is being eyed to boost the growth and development in the city as well as its local economy.

Mayor Mark Golez led the groundbreaking of the P1 billion project, along with other city and provincial officials led by Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson in Barangay Rizal on Wednesday, Feb. 16.

The Silay City Government Center will soon rise in a 6.5-hectare property donated by Claudio Lopez Inc. at Hacienda Maquina in Barangay Rizal.

Golez thanked the Claudio Lopez Inc., through its corporate manager Michael Anthony Jalandoni Valderrama, for the lot donation.

He said the donation is not only intended for the New Government Center but also for the Public Transport Terminal and an Integrated Local and National Government Office.

The project, to be funded by a loan from the Development Bank of the Philippines, is targeted to be completed in four years or earlier.

Meanwhile, the 54-year-old Silay City Hall will be remodeled into a museum or house various national government offices.