ILOILO CITY – The city government is giving strong consideration to investing in a reclamation project in its bid to attract investors and boost growth and development in the city.
“If we do not have additional land, the will go somewhere else,” said Mayor Jerry Treñas.
The city government is reviving plans to attract the private sector in investing for land reclamation in the city, the regional capital of Western Visayas.
“If we have more lands, our development will continue,” stressed Treñas.
According to Treñas, the ideal target for reclamation is at least 200 hectares and within the City Proper district.
The development of Iloilo City for the past two decades has largely been focused in Mandurriao district, where most of the reclaimed areas are from Iloilo River.
It is in Mandurriao district where the SM Group, Ayala Land Inc., Megaworld Corp., and Gaisano Group established their multi-billion businesses, including malls, hotels and condo buildings.
This is not the first discussion of reclamation projects in recent years.
In 2017, Marikudo Real Estate Development Corp. (MREDC) proposed a P45-billion reclamation project to the Iloilo City government.