• CHRYSEE G. SAMILLANO
Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez is expected to sign today the build-transfer-maintain agreement in connection with the establishment of a centralized command center, intelligent street lamp poles with video surveillance analytics, property and tax assessment system and geographical information system, aimed towards making Bacolod a Super City.
The Sangguniang Panlungsod of Bacolod City approved City Ordinance No. 1089 on February 26, authored by Councilor Al Victor Espino, which grants the mayor authority to sign and enter into the build-transfer-maintain agreement.
Secretary to the Mayor Marty Go said this is part of the agenda and priority of Benitez when he became mayor to make Bacolod City a Super City. Through the PPP project, the city will have a centralized command center, intelligent street lamp poles with video surveillance analytics, and the property and tax assessment of the city will be computerized. All these will help the city achieve the Super City status which the mayor envisions.
Go said that after the mayor signs the agreement today, a contract-signing between the City of Bacolod and the proponent of the project, Hi Data Infra Corp., will follow.
This is the first successful PPP project that was entered into by the city. The process of negotiation between the City of Bacolod and the proponent will be supervised by the PPP Center, which is an independent body from the national government, to see to it that all transactions and processes involving the project will be according to the law, he said.
The cost of the project is about P2.1 billion, Go added.*
