TACLOBAN CITY- Apparently, the competitiveness of this city after it was ravaged by supertyphoon “Yolanda” more than a year ago, was not diminished. These after constructions of new commercial buildings were noted to sprout again in the city. Last year, there were 113 commercial buildings that were either newly-constructed or repaired in the city generating an income of about P7 million while 57 others were noted covering the first four months of the year.
Engineer Roberto Gabriana of the City Engineering Office said that the construction of these commercial buildings in Tacloban only shows that investors, both coming from outside and within the city, still believes on the competitiveness of the city. “This only means that our businessmen still believe that we have not lost our competitiveness. After all, Tacloban remains to be the regional capital of Eastern Visayas,” he said.
Thus, they expect more new building constructions will take place within this year and in the succeeding years. He noted that several owners of these new buildings were not from the city, an indication that businessmen did not lose their interest in Tacloban. Gabriana said that the construction of this commercial building is a welcome development considering that aside from generating an income for the city government, it also helps in the generation of employment not only among residents of the city but those coming from other parts of the region. He disclosed that representatives from some of the country’s mall operators visited their office looking for the possibility of constructing their own shopping malls in Tacloban.
Gabriana, however, disclosed to provide details on this saying he is not authorized to divulge this matter. Before Tacloban was hit by Yolanda in 2013, construction boom was noted in the city.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)
