Ayala refocusing P7B
for North Point dev’t
BY CARLA GOMEZ

The P6 billion development of the 7.7-hectare provincial government property in Bacolod City is no longer part of the business plan of AyalaLand Inc., Emilio Tumbocon, its senior vice president, said yesterday.

“We have been waiting for over a year, our business cannot operate in an environment of uncertainty,” he told the DAILY STAR.

He cited the delay of about 14 months in the Commission on Audit ruling on the contracts for the sale and lease of the Capitol property to ALI, and the pending lawsuit filed by SM Prime Holdings Inc. against provincial government officials for its not being awarded the project.

Metro, the retail store in Cebu and owned by Viscal Development Corp., yesterday broke ground for its 5,500-square meter hypermarket to be built within the Ayala North Point Mall at Brgy. Matab-ang, Talisay City.

Eduardo Ponce, president of Metro Retail Group, said the hypermarket is a combination of supermarket and general merchandise store that will have about 60 percent food and dry goods, and 40 percent general merchandise.

The hypermarket is expected to open in April 2013. The Metro Store Talisay will be Metro’s 25th store and its second hypermarket store. Ponce said. They also plan to build more Metro stores in Negros Occidental in the future, he added.