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Airial view of the Loakan airport, vital to attracting new business to the city. |
BUSINESSMEN are pointing only to two factors why investors are becoming wary of opening businesses in the Summer Capital.
Baguio-Benguet Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Marciano Garcia reported before economic stakeholders the immediate need for the improvement of road networks and water supply in Baguio City.
He stressed the city’s immediate need for improved roads and airports, as the business is highly dependent on high flow of people coming in and out of the city.
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Garcia added that the city also has problems on water supply, with the water district only supplying 25 percent of the needs of residents despite Baguio Water District collecting on behalf of the City Government P50 to P100 from residences and businesses to develop water resources.
This together with improving the public market, the show window of the city, according to the business leader, must be addressed before opening the city to additional businesses.
In the past years, he said the city has become highly populated with limited capacity, which worries the business community even more.
He told the country’s economic managers to open up the public-private partnerships (PPP) initiated by the government to local partnerships, which the Department of Budget and Management Fiscal Planning Bureau OIC-Director Rolando Toledo claimed is now being addressed.
“Local governments are encouraged to air these concerns to the National Economic and Development Authority to be addressed at the national level,” he said.
In behalf of the city, Budget Officer Leticia Clemente said local government initiatives in public-private partnerships are already being implemented starting with the city-owned Asin Hydroelectric Plants.
Other PPP projects the city is eyeing next year are parking systems and development of the Burnham Park.
“It’s important to build capacities for local governments,” Clemente said in response to the city’s efforts to address problems such as Baguio exceeding its carrying capacity with population growth.
As for the Department of Public Works and Highways, Regional Director Edilberto Carrabacan said they are prioritizing maintenance and rehabilitation of entry points to the city.
Carabbacan said the development of the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway and the completion of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway by 2013 is important to minimize travel time to the city.
The agency also assured clearance of regular slides, which occur along highways during the rainy season and during typhoons. - (SunStar / by JM Agreda)
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