Top officers from Gaisano Capital Corporation headed by President and CEO Mr. Henry Gaisano II along with City Mayor Ernesto Matugas and the provincial officials led the groundbreaking rites of the 2-storey mall at Brgy. Luna this city.
The site is a 3.4 hectare expanse adjacent to the Surigao City integrated bus terminal and St. Paul University Surigao. Gaisano said the mall will only have a total floor area of one hectare.
During the luncheon fellowship hosted by the Surigao Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) at the Hotel Tavern Surigao, Gaisano revealed that it was through blogs and internet forums which triggered their company to come to the city.
“Gaisano Capital never had a second thought in coming to Surigao City. We believe Surigaonons greatly deserve a shopping mall. We have read your letters in blogs and in the internet and we came here in answer to your prayer.”
First floor will house the supermarket with the varied arrays of local and imported goods while clothing apparels, house wares, appliances, school and office supplies will be at the second level.
Gaisano said that construction has already been started and they are targeting to finish it before the September fiesta celebration however because of the unpredictable weather condition in Surigao, “it might finish before Christmas.”
“Ang among pagconstruct depende gyud sa panahon, kung kami magtukod mu-maximum lang ug six to seven months kung mucooperate ang panahon,” Gaisano said.
“The city of Surigao is very thankful that Gaisano Capital is interested in putting up a mall in the city for it will definitely generate employment,” said Mayor Matugas.
Matugas said he has only two requests, “that Surigaonons will be prioritized in the employment opportunities and the drainage system. I hope they will put-up a proper drainage system in the area.”
Atty. Eric Labrada of Gaisano Capital Corp. is predicting about 600 to 800 people to be employed once the mall becomes operational.
The coming of the Gaisano Capital in Surigao City, and for that matter the province of Surigao del Norte, has been largely anticipated by both consumers and local business establishments which prompted the Surigao Chamber of Commerce to caution its impact on local traders, especially those based in the downtown district. (PIA-SDN)
3 comments:
Why would a city chief executive say that "I hope..." when it is his every right to demand from any investors or business enterprise to follow the building codes of the city or does it have one in place?
My understanding is that it is the role of the mayor to steer the city's growth into a safe and environmentally friendly atmosphere and not genuflect to financiers-that-be in whatever wishes they like.
It is imperative for the city to implement rules and regulations as to building construction and safety (that pre-exist on well developed cities) and should be the case.
On the other hand, i am not sure if the city even has one 'Department of Building and Safety' that is tasked and has jurisdiction on the issuance of building permits, promulgation of rules and civil engineering codes, identification of hazards, clarification on abatements,zoning and planning, accesses to utilities, right-of-ways, etc. as these will serve as the guiding principle for every citizenry to follow and not be swayed by any political quid-pro-quo.
It will be interesting to note if the city's engineering department will sink its teeth on these endeavors and make sure that it is followed to a tee, then we can be rest asssured that when untoward calamities (Fire, Flooding, earthquake, etc.) would come we are better prepared to face these challenges intead of blaming each other and pointing fingers.
I hope the small Tuazon Village that is directly located behind the Gaisano Mall lot will not be poorly impacted by the large scale construction of this mall. As is stands now, our little community has terrible drainage problems and poor access to our homes. We hope that the Mayor and the Gaisano engineers will keep us in mind when they are improving the area for their mall.
I hope that the small Tuazon Village behind the site of the new Giasano Mall will not be negatively impacted by the Mall development. As it stands now, we have terrible drainage and access to our village. We hope the Mayor and Gaisano engineers will keep us in mind when planning their area improvements.
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