Bidding price of old airport site lowered to P900 M
The city government and the Department of Finance has agreed to lower the bidding price of the 54-hectare old Iloilo Airport site in Mandurriao district to P900 million.
The new selling price was based on the appraisal of the government and private company. The bidding price was earlier pegged at P1.2 billion.
Atty. Giovanni Miraflores, who represents the city government in the undertaking for the sale of the property, said they are still waiting for the response of the Privatization Council on the new bid price that they have set.
There is no new bidder for the airport site. Though five companies were pre-qualified to bid, only three went to the actual bidding on May 9, 2007.
Robinsons Lands submitted the highest bid of P1.09 billion followed by Empire East (P701 million) and SM Prime (P435.79 million). Rockwell Land Corp. and Ayala Land Inc. backed out.
The Privatization Council is composed of the heads of the Department of Finance, Air Transportation Office, Department of Transportation and Communications, Department of Justice and Department of Budget and Management.
Miraflores said the government is in a hurry to sell the property. Based on the the terms and conditions for the sale of the property, the government will not dip its finger on the relocation of squatter families occupying portions of the 54-hectare airport site.
He also said the portion of the old airport which remained untitled will not be included in the sale since part of it is used as road ways. He, however, did not identify on which portion of the property are untitled and used a road ways.
Earlier, Finance Undersecretary John Philip Sevilla, chair of the bids and awards committee of the Iloilo airport said there are appraisals between P800 million to P1 billion. There is also no law that limits the minimum bidding price to the appraised value.