MINERVA BC NEWMAN
CEBU Province—The 100-hectare Minglanilla Techno-Business Park or Ming-Mori reclamation project in Cebu was approved by the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) and is considered a strategic development milestone as the local government unit of Minglanilla represented by Mayor Elanito Pena and the PRA general manager and CEO Atty. Janilo Rubiat signed the memorandum of agreement (MOA) Thursday, June 10 at Citadines, Cebu City.
According to Cebu Landmasters Inc. (CLI) president and CEO Jose Soberano III that the P20B Ming-Mori reclamation project will be developed and managed by CLI affiliate Ming-Mori Development Corp.
Soberano said that the approval of the development indicated that government has thoroughly evaluated the undertaking. PRA’s process took years due to the multi-stakeholder’s consultation on the project. It was in 2020 that the Ming-Mori project was issued an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) after more than five years of rigid and comprehensive review.
“The project will take CLI to a brand-new level and widen the range of our customer base to include light-industrial and technology-driven companies. We aim to achieve a balanced and mutually supporting relationship between urban mixed-use development, light-industrial land use and environmental stewardship,” Soberano bared in a sidelight interview with media.
Minglanilla town mayor Elanito Pena said that Ming-Mori Techno Business Park is the long-awaited realization of a dream of many Minglanillahanons that would later become a representation of progress in that area.
“The development project will not just modernize the landscape of Minglanilla but will also create immeasurable socio-economic opportunities to all people, not just for the Minglanillahanons,” Pena added.
The estate’s proximity to Cebu City makes it a highly viable location for light manufacturing industries especially now that the province’s main industrial parks are fully occupied, Soberano said.
To further attract more locators to the economic zone, Ming-Mori will also have its own port facilities to link it with the global economy and the first phase of the project will commercial, residential and institutional zones to create enough diversity for a vibrant community, Soiberano bared.
He said that the 100-hectare land area will be divided into two islands, one spans 75 hectares while the other covers around 25 hectares. In-land filling for the project will be sourced from the mountains of Minglanilla.
According to Soberano that the project is expected to generate more than 75,000 jobs within Cebu and the neighboring provinces in Central Visayas. Jobs from light manufacturing firms will initially draw workers and their families into the area to create a critical mass of residents supported by residential and commercial areas, schools, churches, and other institutions, he added.
As more areas become available and are developed, CLI envisions a vibrant waterfront community with lifestyle, business and industry woven together Cebu South.
“This is one of CLI’s biggest projects thus far and because of the scale of this project that will take several phases to develop, we have carefully and meticulously planned it to be sustainable and supportive of future generations,” Soberano said.
Soberano bared that the Minglanilla Techno Business Park master plan was created/developed by the globally acclaimed Singapore-based Surbana Jurong Consultants, one of the most successful urban and infrastructure consulting firms in Asia with projects in over 30 countries.
