The Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport Authority (APECO) is rebuilding the ecozone here after learning that around PHP796 million worth of utility and infrastructure projects within the APECO property were left unfinished.

APECO President and Chief Executive Officer Gil Taway IV told the Philippine News Agency here Thursday that they had to terminate some of the contracts and rebid them to finish 10 incomplete projects.

He said some of these projects were 80 percent complete but were abandoned.

APECO OIC Manager for Business Development and Marketing Gene Angelo Ferrer also shared that these projects were not moving for three to seven years after contracts were awarded.

Taway said APECO is rebidding the PHP439-million Corporate Campus Development, which will house a one-stop-shop center for government services and will include the development of revenue-generating assets such as a hotel, clubhouse, and sports complex, among others.

APECO is also looking for bidders for its PHP75-million Corporate Campus Building, which is currently the administration building of the investment promotion agency (IPA).

He cited that the former contracts for the Underground Power Distribution Line (UPDL) Phases 1 and 2 were terminated and that APECO had already completed the rebidding process.

Taway said the UPDL contracts were separate deals before, but were now combined with an aggregate project cost of PHP90 million.

The contract for the PHP60-million Central Water Project Phases 1 was also terminated after it got stalled and never started by the former contractor. It was already bidded out and the project is now 50 percent complete.

Construction for Phase 2, a PHP30-million project, is ongoing after the bidding was completed.

The APECO chief said the contract for the Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) Project Phase 1 was terminated after the contractor left the project unfinished at 98 percent, with a project cost of PHP28 million.

Bidding for the Phase 2 contract is still pending with some of the requirements needed to be completed, Taway said.

The Phase 2 project amounted to PHP47 million.

Taway also shared that the APECO Fire Station Project worth PHP27 million, which includes the construction of the building and the purchase of fire trucks and ambulance, was left nearly finished.

He said he separated the contract into two—one, for the construction of the building, which is almost complete, and two, for the purchase of the vehicles.

Taway said he asked the contractor to finish the construction of the fire station, with the building amounting to PHP12 million.

The remaining PHP15 million project to buy fire trucks and ambulances is still up for bidding.

“These projects are crucial so we can entice investors to locate in APECO. We need these infrastructure and utilities to move forward,” Taway said.

“We want to attract investments aligned with President Marcos’ goal of food security, energy security, and national security. (PNA)