Catbalogan’s mega project attracts big companies

CATBALOGAN CITY, Samar, July 10  -- The city government here said the development of the 440-hectare Sky City Mega Project will proceed with the commitment of big companies to put up investments in its new township.

Mayor Stephany Uy-Tan told reporters Tuesday that investors have already committed to develop about 15 hectares of the mega project, including the 1.6 hectares land meant for the construction of the new city hall.

“We still have to finalize the plan for the city hall after the owner formally donated the lot to the city government. We will look at how other local government units built their climate resilient buildings,” Uy-Tan said.

In a video message, Oriental Hotels and Resorts President Rebecca Marie Abigail G. Lee said they are committed to build a hotel within a 2.2 hectares lot in the city’s upland area.

“Catbalogan is the gateway to Samar and all people who go to Samar pass by Catbalogan. We want people to stay here and we want to provide a place for them to stay. We want the city to be a convention capital for Samar,” Lee said.

SM Prime Holdings, Inc. will also build a mall within an eight-hectare property in 2021, the mayor said. “After opening a store in Primark Town Center in Catbalogan market, they will build a mall in Sky City.”

Primark, owned by LKY Group of Companies, has started its town center project at the market. The company’s key tenants are SM-affiliate businesses such as SM Savemore for basic commodities, Ace Hardware for home and office needs, SM Appliance, BDO or China Bank for banking transactions.

“We have not shared new updates about the mega project in the past few months because of a lot of criticisms, but we want to assure people in Catbalogan that the project will be pushed through,” she said.

Uy-Tan said Sky City will be the new home of several government offices, mall zones with parking space, health and wellness center, hotels and resorts, information technology hubs, housing projects, educational and training hubs, multi-purpose complex, and a 25-hectare flood-proof dam that will serve as a water catchment to eliminate flooding in the downtown area.

The local government is eyeing to fully develop the new urban center within 40 years.

It is situated on the adjacent hills with the highest elevation of 120 meters above sea level. The selected location includes flat land and hills, and is surrounded by picturesque scenery such as a mountain range, a beautiful coastline, a river, and a man-made lagoon.

In 2015, the project was selected as one of the nine projects, promoted by Urban-Low Emission Development Strategies cities, presented to potential funders at the Global Infrastructure Basel (GIB) Summit, in Basel, Switzerland.

These projects were selected from a group of 150 project proposals submitted from different parts of the world. (SQM/PNA)