THE GOOD:
Cebu has experienced a growth of monumental proportion the past few years. The data released by NEDA on their website depicts the ever changing economic landscape of Cebu as well as the Philippines in general.
In Region 7 alone, where Cebu is located, exports have gone up substantially which reflects the region’s strong growth that is driven mostly by the electronics sector. Though the electronics sector comprises the majority of the region’s export, the service sector is fast catching up.
BPO (business outsourcing companies) and IT companies and all other service-related companies have experienced unprecedented growth as multinational and foreign companies have shown confidence towards the local government. With a lot of infrastructure under construction or just recently finished, the demand for more usable space has been considerably addressed. Not only that, but the abundance of highly skilled professionals and the advantage of having some excellent universities in close proximity capable of producing the right persons for the right job have also made it possible for these companies to maintain their competitive edge and confidence in the Cebu talent pool.
Kudos to the local government of Cebu for having the vision of developing the city and its cluster cities to be one of the fast growing preferred destinations for IT and BPO companies. No doubt they have labored to make this a reality. Watch out for a changing landscape all over Cebu City as new tall buildings will emerge.
The bad:
Metropolitan Cebu, though one of the largest islands in Region 7, is limited in its expansion in terms of real estate. The mountainous land that sorrounds the city in the west side and the long coastline in the east made it difficult to scatter the developments of the now highly urbanized Cebu City. Urban planners will definitely face a challenging task in making Cebu an ultramodern city.
The influx of workers in the city due to new opportunities brought about by the services sector presents another unpleasant problem:lack of housing. With no expansion available, a new wave of shelters will have to squeeze in a now crowded Cebu City. Though road networks have been improving with the addition of the south reclamation and the north reclamation areas in the past few years, the lack of land available for road expansion still presents a daunting task for urban planners to expand the roads around Cebu City. Along with this challenge is the ever increasing real estate cost due to the lure of high earning professionals who can afford such a commodity.
Cebu has not adapted yet to mass urban housing like condominiums and high-rise apartments. Still the most preferred are the subdivisions. Townhouses and apartments share the remaining chunk of the pie.
The ugly:
The densely populated Ayala-Lahug-Banilad-Talamban area has already reached its breaking point in terms of land use. With no mass transportation, and the increase of passenger cars and vehicles and limited road networks, the traffic going in and out of the city is now worse than ever. That stretch alone, which usually takes a little over 15 minutes a couple of years ago, now will make it hard for you to reach halfway in 30 minutes during rush hour. Indeed, mass transportation will be a viable solution in the future. It’s interesting what will happen in the next five to 10 years.
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March 20th, 2008 at 9:22 pm
Speaking of the densely populated Banilad area, it is worse now the the fly over at the Ma Luisa crossing under construction.
April 30th, 2007 at 4:21 pm
It should be obvious now, if it weren’t obvious before, that Cebu needs a Light Rail Transit system that will stretch from Naga (south) to Danao (north). This will certainly decongest, or if not, at the very least, partially ameliorate the crowding in the City Centers. If only Manila would put a moratorium on building more and more skyways for NCR and put up the budget to make this a reality. Anyway, one can always hope!
April 30th, 2007 at 12:16 pm
The government should focus more on developing infrastructure — building new roads, dams for waters, etc. Last week, PGMA inaugurated the Cebu North Coastal Road, I think this is a good start. Aside from that, they should also encourage the development of mass high rise apartments. There are actually still a lot of open spaces in Cebu especially if you go to the outskirts like Talamban, Consolacion, etc. It’s just that there aren’t enough roads going to those isolated places. The government then should build more roads in the metro areas so that it will be developed. I think Cebu’s lack of space is not a problem since Hong Kong itself is facing the same dilemma. The government should also strictly regulate vehicles in the city especially the jeepneys, they should adopt a new form of mass transportation although there are future plans for a railway system. In Hong Kong, a major economic hub of the world, even on rush hour, some of the major roads are so desolate that one would think that it’s a ghost town — it’s because most of the people don’t own a car and would rather commute via the subway, the tram or bus.
April 30th, 2007 at 9:22 am
The real “ugly” in Cebu City is the downtown area. One of the ugliest downtown districts in the Philippines. That place needs a total makeover.