The provincial government of Negros Occidental expects more profits and to provide more jobs for Negrenses once it assumes the management of the P617-million Negros First Cyber Centre in January, after the termination of the Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) between the province and the Negros Property Management and Development Corporation (NPMDC).
This was disclosed by Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz, who said there was already a meeting of the minds between the provincial government and the NPMDC in dissolving the partnership and turning over the contract and management of the cyber center in Bacolod City to the province.
Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson earlier issued a notice to terminate the JVA after he was given authority by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Negros Occidental to negotiate the termination of the contract, which Diaz described as “one-sided”.
Diaz said that Lacson designated former congressman and now provincial consultant Alfredo Benitez to lead a team for the smooth transfer of the cyber center management to the provincial government that is expected to be completed within this month.
By January 1, if all things go well and we come to an agreement, it will be the province that will manage the cyber center, he added.
In his letter to NPMDC chairperson Salvador Enriquez Jr., Lacson said the provincial government is terminating the JVA for being grossly disadvantageous to the economic interest of the provincial government more than four years after it took effect.
Diaz said Monday that the P14 million per year payment of NPMDC to the provincial government in the last two years was not enough to pay for its loan amortization with the Land Bank of the Philippines.
He added that the province wants to continue the operations of the cyber center, even only for an initial breakeven income to cover the loan amortization it has been paying.
Once the smooth transition is completed, Diaz assured that the provincial government will honor the contracts with all tenants at the cyber center. – GB
