Cebu City acquiring lots for coastal housing

THE Cebu City government is in the process of procuring the lots to be used for the South Coastal Urban Development (Scud) housing project that will cover eight barangays, architect Joseph Michael Espina of the City Planning and Development Office (CPDO) said Thursday, May 11, 2023.

The City Government has already assembled a team of lawyers to settle property concerns, Espina said on the sidelines of the Waterfront Development Summit held at the National Museum in Cebu City.

“We will discuss how to proceed, and then we will solve problems along the way,” Espina told SunStar Cebu.

The Scud, which had its groundbreaking last Feb. 27, is projected to house 8,000 informal settler families and low-wage earners in the city for Phase 1 of the project.

The Scud project is situated across the South Road Properties and it has three phases, covering a total of 60 hectares of land area in barangays Sawang Calero, Duljo-Fatima, Mambaling, Basak San Nicolas, Basak Pardo, Kinasang-an Pardo, Cogon Pardo and Inayawan.

Compensation

Owners of the properties are amenable to the project, Espina said.

They are currently talking with barangay captains and barangay officials of the areas where the Scud project is set to be built.

Espina said the property owners will be compensated for their lots that will be affected by the project.

“There is a law. You have to pay (the owners) if they own the property. If you have a title, the government will pay you. There’s a law on that,” Espina said.

When the land requisition falls into place, the land development of the area will follow. Espina added that they will use an engineered way of land development, and not simply use the direct dumping of filling materials.

Temporary housing

Prioritizing the temporary housing, Espina said the City Government will also order from China one boatload of 2,000 pre-fabricated steel units for the temporary housing.

“Pag-abot ana (When that arrives), they can construct it in three months,” Espina said.

The temporary housing is for those who will be affected by the Cebu City Government’s program to clear the three-meter easement of waterways, while they await the completion of the high-rise buildings to be built under Scud.

While the land development is ongoing, the temporary housing will also be worked on. Espina said these pre-fabricated materials already have walls and other parts ready for construction.