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Central Visayas Region

1M views 6K replies 621 participants last post by  hanz1prince 
#1 ·
Bohol Philipppines - it's the newest tourism craze in Pinas

Please take time to visit the website of Bohol - God’s Little Paradise. Aside from natural wonders like chocolate hills, white sand beaches, caves, and waterfalls, you can also find romantic lighthouses and several historic churches engraved with Baroque designs, please check this link:

http://www.bohol.ph/gallery3.html

It's not a skycraper but the monuments are worth treasures.
Btw, I'm a fan of old buildings. For me it represents grandeur, history, and stability. I don't like tall glass building.
 
#5,201 ·
^^
:eek:kay:

go Cebu BRT! with narrow streets in Cebu tapos lalagyan pa ng parang bubong sa itaas, its suffocating! :nuts:
We need to see the rendering first before making generalizations here! Politicians can make the situations difficult but there are no problems that have no solutions; that's why we have engineers and technicians!
 
#5,202 ·
Plaridel St. Widening... The road after Cansaga Bay Bridge Consolacion side...:eek:kay:

















 
#5,206 ·
repost

naa diay article bai...


MetroPac firms up plans for Cebu expressway, Clark airport
Posted on June 06, 2011 08:59:05 PM
BY NEIL JEROME C. MORALES, Reporter




METRO PACIFIC Investments Corp. (MPIC) is firming up plans to build a toll road in Cebu and operate an airport in Clark with the projects’ feasibility studies expected to be completed by the second half of the year, officials said.
“Hopefully before the year ends, we can come up with the [results of a Cebu toll road] study,” Ramoncito S. Fernandez, president of MPIC unit Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., told BusinessWorld in a chance interview.

“We are looking at the possibility of building additional toll roads [particularly to] solve congestion in Cebu,” Mr. Fernandez added.
If the plan pushes through, this will be the company’s first project outside Luzon.


Earlier, the local government of Cebu had aired its interest to enter into a build-operate-transfer scheme for a P5-billion “trans-axial highway” that would run from the northernmost town of Daanbantayan to Santander in the south.

The project, which has yet to be implemented, will cross all 47 towns and six cities. Work still remains in the “study phase,” Mr. Fernandez said, citing traffic volumes as among the factors up for review.

He added that the company allotted a few millions for the analysis.

The conglomerate’s subsidiary in the meantime operates the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) and is also renegotiating its concession agreement with the government for the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx).

Metro Pacific Tollways has also reported plans to spend P25 billion for three big-ticket projects in the next four years. Segment 9 -- the four-lane, 2.42-kilometer (km.) stretch -- is eyed to connect NLEx to MacArthur Highway in Valenzuela City while the two-lane, 5.65-km.

Segment 10 is planned to run through MacArthur Highway to Radial Road R-10. These come on top of the 13.2-km. connector road that will link NLEx at C-3 Road to Skyway 1 along South Luzon Expressway in Makati.

Meanwhile, David J. Nicol, chief finance officer of Metro Pacific, said the feasibility study for the operation and maintenance of the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) in Clark, Pampanga will be completed in the second half.

“I suspect [it will be ready] within three to four months,” Mr. Nicol said.

Early this year, Metro Pacific hired Madrid-based Indra Group to conduct the feasibility study.

Mr. Nicol said privatizing the airport will result in higher operating efficiency, adding that Metro Pacific allotted $250,000 for the study.

Metro Pacific wants to rehabilitate the airport and build a high-speed railway as DMIA is 85 km. away from Ninoy Aquino International Airport, the country’s main gateway.

Mr. Nicol said the company will look for a partner with the technical capacity to operate the airport.

Under the Philippine Development Plan 2011-2016 of the National Economic and Development Authority, Subic and Clark are targeted to be logistics centers. The Civil Aeronautics Board has already approved the expansion of air services at the DMIA and the Subic Bay International Airport.

“Infrastructure projects have a good cash flow. Considering Metro Pacific already has the experience in infrastructure development and maintenance, it would be feasible for the company to invest in other opportunities,” Astro C. del Castillo, managing director of brokerage firm First Grade Holdings, Inc., said in a phone interview yesterday.

But Mr. del Castillo also warned of the regulatory risks that threaten new ventures.

In the first quarter, core profits of the listed holding firm surged by 44% to P1.13 billion from P788 million in the previous year as revenues climbed by 17% to P5.05 billion in the first three months.

Metro Pacific is the Philippine unit of Hong Kong’s First Pacific Co. Ltd., which partly owns the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT).

Mediaquest Holdings, Inc., a unit of the Beneficial Trust Fund of PLDT, has a minority stake in BusinessWorld.
 
#5,208 ·
^^instead of building a toll road, how about investing on an efficient mass transport system for the province? in the modern world, cars are so yesterday...
If money is not the problem, why not do both? Me, I don't even feel it's kinda comfy in a mass transport vehicle! Maybe just me but it feels good when I am not confined in a box!

Maybe a futuristic transport system where your car flies? (Okay, just woke up.)
 
#5,209 ·
If money is not the problem ... Okay, just woke up ...
tried to delete so many words to give it another perspective, he he he :lol:

but i think, that basically it - money is the problem! :lol::lol::lol:

anyways, on a more serious note, i find it that most people rarely appreciate the
fact that this money problem has less to do with how much money the country
actually has, and more on how much money each individual citizen has. in other
words, its not the budget per se, that's plaguing development, but the level of
per capita income a country has. our difficulty is that we are always looking for
the kind of infrastructure or urban amenities that a country with US$20,000 per
capita income has, when we ourselves only have US$3,000.

and anyways, i agree ... if we have the money, we can afford to be extravagant ...
 
#5,210 ·
tried to delete so many words to give it another perspective, he he he :lol:

but i think, that basically it - money is the problem! :lol::lol::lol:

anyways, on a more serious note, i find it that most people rarely appreciate the fact that this money problem has less to do with how much money the country actually has, and more on how much money each individual citizen has. in other words, its not the budget per se, that's plaguing development, but the level of per capita income a country has. our difficulty is that we are always looking for the kind of infrastructure or urban amenities that a country with US$20,000 per capita income has, when we ourselves only have US$3,000.

and anyways, i agree ... if we have the money, we can afford to be extravagant ...
Good to know you read behind those lines! That was the intention. IMHO, there are always questions before you do things: do we have the means to do it? If we do, does it make sense (pesos sense!)? If not, why do it? Simple questions that doesn't need a lot of thoughts. Sort of giving the details to the guys around, we only need the results!
 
#5,211 ·
Nah, we can always get them subsidized by the gov't...lol.

But Sir Zid. I understand that our projects need to be feasible, but sometimes it begs the chicken or the egg question. There are times when projects, infra needs to be built even when they aren't "feasible" (but I guess that word has so many other context right?) because they will help us get to the $20,000 per capita income level. How do we draw the line there?

Can you please explain in a nut shell how FEASIBILITY is arrived at? Are there cases similar to the one I mentioned above?
 
#5,212 ·
Good to know you read behind those lines! That was the intention. IMHO, there are always questions before you do things: do we have the means to do it? If we do, does it make sense (pesos sense!)? If not, why do it? Simple questions that doesn't need a lot of thoughts. Sort of giving the details to the guys around, we only need the results!
government subsidies...private investment...

and i'm not talking about building on a grand scale, i'm just against the idea of building a highway and would prefer mass transit instead...so-called world class cities and regions around the world are pushing for the same thing, better mass transit

build more highways, and people would just keep on buying cars, adding to congestion...how about coming up with a government owned (or public-private partnership) province-wide bus system that would connect all the cities and towns in Cebu island and travel on its own dedicated bus way? much like a province-wide BRT

if you prefer to drive in your own private vehicle, the current road system in Cebu would do for you, but when it comes to moving large amounts of people efficiently from point A to B, mass transit would be IMO, the better solution

besides, Cebu isn't that big of an island anyway
 
#5,213 ·
^^If we have province-wide BRT, we still have to expand our existing roads. Yes, province-wide BRT could be another option to having expressways, with each town center as stations.

But how about cargoes? Farm products? Fish products?
 
#5,214 ·
Good morning to everybody,

of course you can only spend those money, which you have earned. But much more important is the knowledge and the will, to develop a country. I was 6 times in the Philippines and sometimes I felt deep doubt about this. In this forum we are talking about Cebu and its traffic infrastructure. Cebu is the 3rd biggest Cit in the Philippines after Manila and Davao, but surely number 2 in economic development. If your government and the upper class really wants better Philippines, why they are not starting earlier? You 10 Millione and more OFW’s. They are all outside the country. They help to put the pressure outside the big pot Philippines. Beside they are sending money hope to strengthen this Phenomenon. By my view the best for the country, which is my country also in my mind, would be to stop sending remittance at once. The pressure would rise, that is the best condition for a time of change. I am not sure if the majority of the people, who are living inside the Philippines are ripe for this cognition. The upper class, nearly 1% of the population has no reason to change something. They are possessing the capital equippement and the ground. The interests are coming and coming and coming. No need to move. But the middle class has to move. The middle class is the center of every community. Build streets, build bridges, build and renew electricity lines and water conduits. Build and fill industrial zones. Stregthen your education, start with urban development. All together can help that people can work inside the Philippines and no longer outside. If many people realizes this connections, this would be the start of a much better country. The money income per capita will rise by itself to start bigger and bigger projects.

Back to my thread few days ago and back from theorie to reality. Can anybody tell something about the plan with the Gabuya street in Pardo?:

Hello to you,

I have a question. My mother in law, is living in Cogon Pardo, Gabuya Street. The street starts opposite of Pardo Church, where I married my Lani in 2006. Its long and its straight. Nearly 50 meters before a big kurve you have to go inside, to find the house of my mother in law. One time I pleased my wife to look behind this kurve. In former years you could take a bath in the narrow sea, but now it looks more like a squatter area.

Yesterday my wife told me, that her auntie, whose house is situated directly at the Gabuya street has to sell a part of her lot. The reason is, they are planning to enlarge the Gabuya Street for more traffic and to build a connection to the SRP.

(1) Can you tell me more about this project?
(2) Can anybody pose a plan of this project?
(3) When they will start to enlarge the Gabuya Street?

Thank you so much in advance for your hopefully successful efforts.

Alfred from Germany
 
#5,215 ·
Nah, we can always get them subsidized by the gov't...lol.

But Sir Zid. I understand that our projects need to be feasible, but sometimes it begs the chicken or the egg question. There are times when projects, infra needs to be built even when they aren't "feasible" (but I guess that word has so many other context right?) because they will help us get to the $20,000 per capita income level. How do we draw the line there?

Can you please explain in a nut shell how FEASIBILITY is arrived at? Are there cases similar to the one I mentioned above?
toinks! that's why sometimes feasibility studies for big projects costs millions
of pesos! cause it can't be done in a nutshell, he he he

anyways, two things. first, that's why there are two kinds of feasibilities -
financial and economic. economic is macro, or referring to the entire economy
while financial feasibility is micro which refers to the feasibility indicators of
the specific project itself. for decision making purposes, the economic feasi-
bility must be there, ... if its not feasible in the economic aspect, its won't
get implemented. but a project can be financially not feasible, meaning it
can't pay for itself, but it is economically feasible, so subsidies are infused to
bridge the gap - we call that the investment gap financing.

second, there is the concept of ability to pay. the closest that i can explain
in a nutshell is say, for example, a poor family who wants to open up a sari-
sari store. the father/owner looks at his well-to-do neighbor who has a
convenience store and sees he uses a computer to keep his financial records.
should he also buy a computer? or should a calculator suffice? on the other
hand, the convenience store owner sees his compadre who owns a mall who
uses a LAN system with Inventory Management systems, etc., etc. should
he also buy those, or should each of them wait until they reach a level of
profitability and balance sheet to need and afford what is proper?

in a nutshell, countries and governments are like families. when your poor,
your poor and when your rich, your rich. always remember that governments
rely on taxes to support development. but taxes, in general are a certain
percentage of your income, in this case, the gross domestic product (GDP).
but the GDP is the sum total of the per capita income of the population,
since per capita income is simply GDP/population. so see the difference bet-
ween the Philippines with US$3,000 per capital income and say, South Korea
(US$20,000), or Hong Kong (US$30,000), or US (US$45,000). and we com-
plain to government why we don't have roads or airports or subways like they
do? and if government will grant what you wish, what will government use
to build hospitals, care for the sick, and do a thousand other things.

let's build what we can for the time being, improve the economy, and move on
to higher things. if we use up the resources to buy expensive things now,
there won't be enough to build the economy, and we will continue to be the
country where we are now.
 
#5,216 ·
Hello Sir Zidlakan,

what I understand is, that your are in involved in planning infrastructure in Cebu, especially the new BRT.

What are the plans of the government to those people, who will loose their jobs, after starting the BRT? Especially Jeepney drivers, the passenger pickers on the backside, the tricycle, trycicads, the Tartanillas? Will the government help or not?

Of course I support the idea of the BRT, even if my favorite was the railroad, but the planning must include not only the Bussystem by itself. No, it must be a global plan, which integrates every touched field of daily life.

By the way. I introduced myself more than an year ago. Maybe somebody remembers my thread of railroads in Cebu and Negros. If not, I can tell something about me again.

Alfred from germany
 
#5,217 ·
Hello Sir Zidlakan,

what I understand is, that your are in involved in planning infrastructure in Cebu, especially the new BRT.

What are the plans of the government to those people, who will loose their jobs, after starting the BRT? Especially Jeepney drivers, the passenger pickers on the backside, the tricycle, trycicads, the Tartanillas? Will the government help or not?

Of course I support the idea of the BRT, even if my favorite was the railroad, but the planning must include not only the Bussystem by itself. No, it must be a global plan, which integrates every touched field of daily life.

By the way. I introduced myself more than an year ago. Maybe somebody remembers my thread of railroads in Cebu and Negros. If not, I can tell something about me again.

Alfred from germany
hi alfred. yes i remember you, and the beautiful pictures of trains you posted
here. i like trains myself but not as much as how my father likes them which
is actually incredulous - our old house is full of pictures of them. i grew up in
a sugar central in negros, one of the last to shift to trucks in the transport of
canes, so i lived with steam and diesel locomotives in my childhood.

i really have to apologize here and beg your indulgence as i can't answer your
question fully - i'm in a hurry, and really, i've answered that so many times
already so i hope you can back read the BRT thread - it should be in there
somewhere, or maybe in the old cebu LRT thread which was deleted by the
mods, in short - yes, we've thought about that, and that issue will be inclu-
ded as an integral part of project planning and implementation - pls backread
for details.

i'm not in charge of infrastructure planning of cebu. i was cebu city planning
officer until late last year, when i was transferred to the airport.

as to that road to the SRP, yes there was a plan, but i don't know the details
now and i don't have the blueprints because i'm no longer connected with
cebu city.

thanks.
 
#5,218 ·
toinks! that's why sometimes feasibility studies for big projects costs millions of pesos! cause it can't be done in a nutshell, he he he

anyways, two things. first, that's why there are two kinds of feasibilities -
financial and economic. economic is macro, or referring to the entire economy while financial feasibility is micro which refers to the feasibility indicators of the specific project itself. for decision making purposes, the economic feasibility must be there, ... if its not feasible in the economic aspect, its won't get implemented. but a project can be financially not feasible, meaning it can't pay for itself, but it is economically feasible, so subsidies are infused to bridge the gap - we call that the investment gap financing.

second, there is the concept of ability to pay. the closest that i can explain in a nutshell is say, for example, a poor family who wants to open up a sari-sari store. the father/owner looks at his well-to-do neighbor who has a convenience store and sees he uses a computer to keep his financial records. should he also buy a computer? or should a calculator suffice? on the other hand, the convenience store owner sees his compadre who owns a mall who uses a LAN system with Inventory Management systems, etc., etc. should he also buy those, or should each of them wait until they reach a level of profitability and balance sheet to need and afford what is proper?

in a nutshell, countries and governments are like families. when your poor,
your poor and when your rich, your rich. always remember that governments rely on taxes to support development. but taxes, in general are a certain percentage of your income, in this case, the gross domestic product (GDP). but the GDP is the sum total of the per capita income of the population, since per capita income is simply GDP/population. so see the difference between the Philippines with US$3,000 per capital income and say, South Korea (US$20,000), or Hong Kong (US$30,000), or US (US$45,000). and we complain to government why we don't have roads or airports or subways like they do? and if government will grant what you wish, what will government use to build hospitals, care for the sick, and do a thousand other things.

let's build what we can for the time being, improve the economy, and move on to higher things. if we use up the resources to buy expensive things now, there won't be enough to build the economy, and we will continue to be the country where we are now.
If I may add, there is another important aspect to keep in mind when in a setup where the principal is experiencing financial constraints. Projects may indicate to be feasible but must give way to other priority subjects which are of higher hierarchy. Feasibility studies help decide on the viability of a specific project proposal but it does not capture how other projects that are contemplated at the same time frame could constrain or choke the proponents or the project itself. In cases with government projects, sometimes hierarchy setting doesn't follow clearly-defined procedures and most are done depending on the existing politics in power.
 
#5,219 ·
If I may add, there is another important aspect to keep in mind when in a setup where the principal is experiencing financial constraints. Projects may indicate to be feasible but must give way to other priority subjects which are of higher hierarchy. Feasibility studies help decide on the viability of a specific project proposal but it does not capture how other projects that are contemplated at the same time frame could constrain or choke the proponents or the project itself. In cases with government projects, sometimes hierarchy setting doesn't follow clearly-defined procedures and most are done depending on the existing politics in power.
whew, nice! that's the prioritization part of it. actually, the FS can still help in
the way we prioritize what to do first, second, third, and so on and so forth,
subject to the availability of money.

financial feasibility is generally express in FIRR, economic in EIRR (financial or
economic internal rate of return). what NEDA does is prioritize the projects
according to their EIRR - the higher the number the higher the priority. i'm
generalizing, of course - and really there is a clearly-defined procedure but
you're right, politics does come into play. at the very least, even politics
generally can not push a project with a failing EIRR ...
 
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