PLANNED COMMUNITIES DEVELOPMENT PROJECT IN THE PHILIPPINES
Copyright Eduardo D. Bacolod
The Planned Communities Development Project in the Philippines is a development project that is in line with addressing the housing backlog in the Philippines, which is presently estimated to be around four million units. The project aims to build planned communities with full infrastructure and amenities using one of the most efficient packages of technologies in housing and building construction in the world that can build elegant but low priced housing units. The project will eventually introduce to the housing sector of the Philippines the business practice of retailing modular housing units and its components. In support of the housing services is the establishment of a local manufacturing plant for the modular housing unit that will ensure that local resources and labor will be employed, which will ensure the availability of the modular housing and building materials in any place of the country where the modular housing system will be applicable.
The project will have four main organizational and functional components. These are as follows:
a) The establishment of planned housing communities to serve selected institutional clients, which include employees’ union of industrial parks and established industrial communities, enlisted personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, communities managed by nongovernmental organizations, private corporations, and government offices,
b) The establishment of a modular housing plant for the fabrication of modular housing and building components governed by an international franchise and proprietary right agreement,
c) The establishment of retail outlets in strategic areas of the country as semi-autonomous business subsidiary that will be engaged in the promotion and selling of the modular housing packages and the availability of modular components for after-sales services, and
d) The creation of functional organizations that will be responsible and accountable in the social mobilization and supervision of every planned community.
The total cost of the project is 961 million US$ broken down as follows:
a) The establishment of 16 planned communities with a total of 40,000 units will entail a cost equivalent to 896 million US$ based on 56 square meters per unit at the cost of 400 US$ per unit for housing construction and land and infrastructure amenities development cost,
b) The establishment of four warehouse retail stores that will be responsible in the initial marketing of 10,000 units of individual modular houses will entail project cost equivalent to 40 million US$ at 10 million US$ per outlet store,
c) Franchise fee for the modular housing technology at 5 million US$, and
d) Planned Community Social Mobilization, Project Management, and Financial Facilitation Services at 20 million US$ estimated at 2 million US$ per community.
The 16 planned communities that will be selected from the initial identified areas where housing assistance are needed to ensure globally competitive industrial productivity, attain industrial peace, and improve the delivery of government services through housing and community development planning.
The industrial communities being considered include Biñan and Sta Rosa in Laguna and Rosario Cavite for the industrial parks and export processing zones in the CALABARZON area of Southern Luzon, Mactan in Cebu for the Mactan Export Processing Zone, Navotas, Metro Manila for the Navotas Fish Port, Angeles City in Pampanga for the Clark Economic Development Zone, General Santos City for the General Santos Fish Port, and other planned communities in major cities of the country in the Visayas and Mindanao, which are located in Iloilo, Zamboanga, Iligan, Cagayan de Oro, and Davao.
On the other hand, the communities established by the Philippine government the Armed Forces of the Philippines properties around Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija and Fort Bonifacio in Taguig, Metro Manila, and the science communities in the country such as Los Baños in Laguna and Science City of Muñoz in Nueva Ecija, are also proposed sites of the planned communities.
The principal funding assistance to the project will be granted by an international humanitarian organization that will shoulder 80 percent of the total project cost equivalent to 768.8 million US$. The remaining 20 percent as counterpart funding equivalent to 192.2 million US$ will be provided by an international nongovernmental organizations that is focusing its major development assistance activities in the Philippines. Both financial assistance packages essential to carry out the project will be released and repaid back consistent with the strict terms and conditions imposed by the donors. The 20 percent counterpart will be totally returned including its interest earning. On the other hand, only 50 percent of the principal financial assistance will be repaid back to the donor equivalent to 384.4 million US$ in line with the humanitarian assistance purpose of the fund.
The projected sales for the 40,000 housing units in the 16 planned communities is 896 million US$ and for the 10,000 units for the initial retailing operations, the net sales at 25 percent markup is projected to be 56 million US$. Based on these projected housing units sales and net sales in the retailing operations, returning 50 percent of the principal financial assistance and the 20 percent counterpart assistance can be carried out very comfortably.
The Philippine Planned Communities Foundation, Inc. will be established as a non-stock and non-profit management and holding corporation. Its principal purpose of creation is to assist in building planned communities for national socio-economic development and progress of the Philippines. To ensure most efficient business operations, its main responsibility is to oversee the overall operations of the project as the principal accountable organization. Its main responsibilities and accountabilities include overall strategic planning, project evaluation of proposed planned communities, financial management, establishment of business relations with international and local partners, and project monitoring. To ensure better control in the implementation, the foundation will maintain stakes in the various subsidiary projects and planned communities that will be established through seats in the Board of Director of the business subsidiary which is essential for a more unified, integrated, and concrete policy directions. These seats however will be withdrawn once the project becomes self-sustaining and the financial obligation to the principal and secondary donors are already settled.
The project will contribute in revolutionizing and further modernizing the housing and building construction and planned community establishment in the Philippines in line with national socioeconomic development by ensuring industrial productivity and peace through housing and community development.
PLANNED COMMUNITIES DEVELOPMENT
PROJECT IN THE PHILIPPINES
Planned Communities Proposed Project Sites
PLANNED COMMUNITIES DEVELOPMENT
PROJECT IN THE PHILIPPINES
Proposed Retail Stores and Marketing Centers
PLANNED COMMUNITIES DEVELOPMENT PROJECT IN THE PHILIPPINES