International company signs MOA with Cebu City Government

Bigfoot Global Solutions signed yesterday a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Cebu City Government in relation to its plan to lease a two-hectare property at the SRP.

Cebu Investments Promotions Center (CIPC) executive director Joel Mari Yu said Bigfoot is preparing for the expansion of its International Academy of Film and Television at the 300-hectare SRP property.

He said the MOA signed between Bigfoot Global Solutions and the City Government, which is the developer of SRP, grants the private firm a 25-year lease term on the property. Bigfoot has the option to renew the contract.

Bigfoot is expected to pay an advance payment of P28 million within five years.

At a monthly lease rate of $40 centavos per square meter, the City Government is expected to earn about P400,000 a month or nearly P5 million a year from the agreement, Yu said.

Aside from the lease agreement on the SRP property, Bigfoot and City Hall are also finalizing the sale of a 16-hectare parcel of land, which is meant for integrated development, near Pond F of the SRP.

The project will be used for a state-of-the-art movie studio with sound stage, said Yu.

He said that part of the Film and Television Academy expansion is the construction of a sound stage facility, which will be another first in Cebu.

In an earlier interview, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña described the move of Bigfoot to located at SRP as a “more exciting development.”

The Bigfoot project will reportedly include a mega yacht club, a five-star hotel, and an all-in-one leisure and commercial facility that will be a first of its kind in Cebu.

According to Osmeña, because of SRP’s strategic location as a “gateway to the South,” many investors are now eyeing the SRP as a feasible site to do business.

Aside from Bigfoot, SM Prime Holdings Inc. (SMPHI) had expressed interest in the SRP. Earlier this month, SMPHI bared plans to construct two additional shopping centers in the province.

Other investors that had shown interest in the SRP are: the Filinvest group, which plans to build a commercial complex; Cebutainer Systems Corp., a Singaporean company that will need 20 hectares; Taiwanese firm Paul Yu Group of Companies; JY Construction; Arcenas Group; Pakna-an Central Development Corp., Mactan Rock Industries Corp., King Group of Companies; and the University of Cebu.(SS)