ICONIC MUSEUM UNDERWAY
Zubiri: Construction of P163M project for Bacolod City will start next year
SENATE Majority Floor Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri presented yesterday the perspective of his flagship project in Bacolod City, the P163 million museum/auditorium. The project will not cost the city government. “I want to give back. Our roots are from here. This was already approved by the Department of Budget and Management and the Department of Public Works and Highways,” said Zubiri, whose family hails from Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental.
The construction of the two-storey structure, a leaf design and green building by the Lichauco and Villanueva Firm, will start on the first quarter of 2019 and is expected to be finished in two years time, he said in a press conference yesterday at L’ Fisher Hotel in Bacolod City.
Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia will announce on October 25, during the highlight of the Masskara Festival, the exact location where the museum will be located, Zubiri said.
The unveiling of the project was made by Zubiri before the members of the media and the city officials led by Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran.
Zubiri said the structure is not simply a museum but will have an auditorium where events, meetings and other activities can be held.
He said the structure will have a leaf design and is not a traditional museum but a combination of a historical and modern building or a little version of the Sydney Opera House.
He also described it as an iconic and historic structure that will be one of the tourist attractions of Bacolod City in the future.
Zubiri said he has lobbied the P163 million budget which will be included in the 2019 appropriation and will be allocated in full for the museum and not the usual allocation that was released in tranches.
He stressed this would ensure that the project’s construction will continue until it is completed.
Zubiri added that the museum will be the first of the many projects he has in line for Bacolod and the province of Negros Occidental.
He pointed out the city government’s share is to provide the location which needs 5,000 square meters and the maintenance of the whole area once it is already completed.
Its design is also friendly to people with disability.
“This design is comparable to the beautiful designs in other parts of the world,” Zubiri added.*