NEW METRO AREA. The Ormoc City Hall. The city government here is upbeat on establishing the Greater Ormoc Metropolitan Area, a new business district outside the city’s existing commercial and populated spaces, Mayor Richard Gomez said on Thursday (Nov. 14, 2019). (PNA file photo)
ORMOC CITY -- The city government here is upbeat on establishing the Greater Ormoc Metropolitan Area, a new business district outside the city’s existing commercial and populated spaces.
The local government targets to develop 100 to 200 hectares of property through public-private partnerships in the next three years.
“What we want to do is to bring development outside (the) downtown area by putting up a township outside the city’s commercial district,” Ormoc Mayor Richard Gomez said in an interview at his office on Thursday.
The city government has tapped urban planners from Palafox Associates in coming up with innovative design solutions for the Greater Ormoc Metropolitan Area.
Gomez said the development of a new township will be patterned after Rockwell in Makati City and Bonifacio Global City in Taguig City.
The city government has yet to come up with the total cost of investment and to identify a specific area for development where the new business district, housing sites, and commercial centers would rise.
“This is a very ambitious plan, but we have to make the first step now. We have been opening new diversion roads and talk(ing) to potential investors,” Gomez added.
This year, the Department of Public Works and Highways completed a PHP547-million diversion road that serves as an alternative route for motorists heading towards Baybay City without passing by the city proper.
Ormoc is a first-class independent component city in Leyte with a population of 215,031, making it the second-most populous city in the province.
The city is the economic, cultural, commercial, and transportation hub of western Leyte. (PNA)
