MDP to drive Zambo economic growth

The city government has two plans, according to Sicat, and these are the six-year Comprehensive Development Plan and the 15-year Comprehensive Land Use Plan.

ZAMBOANGA CITY— The City Planning and Development Office (CPDO) has drafted a Master Development Plan (MDP) that seeks to establish growth areas outside this city’s main business district.

Rodrigo Sicat, CPDO chief, on Wednesday said they have already submitted “the final draft of the master development plan of Zamboanga City to Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar, who in turn will forward it to the Sangguniang Panlungsod for approval into a zoning ordinance.”

“The MDP seeks to establish Zamboanga as a Metropolitan City with robust biodiversity and sustainable development that is globally competitive, where investment thrive(s) through good governance and industry,” Sicat said.

Sicat said the objective of the MDP is to create “at least seven growth areas or development plan units” outside of the main business district.

The seven growth areas are the central business district comprising of 30 barangays; Mercedes, also covering 30 barangays with primary focus on airport transfer and agri-fishery; Ayala, being the industrial zone; Labuan as residential and commercial zones; Sangali, focusing on water shed protection; Curuan as aquamarine zone, and; Vitali to include the 11 Islands for agri-aquaculture and ecotourism.

“We decongest the central business district to establish the growth areas with concentration on the potentials of each growth area,” Sicat said, adding that the existing land use of this city is predominantly residential mixed with some patches of agriculture and commercial.

He also stressed that this city’s MDP pushes for the protection of agriculture and preservation of natural resources.

He said the new MDP will be immediately adopted once approved by the City Council.

The city government has two plans, according to Sicat, and these are the six-year Comprehensive Development Plan and the 15-year Comprehensive Land Use Plan.

“The former is a sectorial development plan while the latter is a physical development plan.

To carry-out the physical development, there needs to be an accompanying Zoning Ordinance. Thus, the Comprehensive Land Use Plan must be approved together with the Zoning Ordinance, by the SP (Sangguniang Panlungsod). After which, these will be reviewed by the Regional Land Use Committee and subsequently need to be ratified by the Housing Land Use Regulatory Board,” he said.

“We had to ‘polish’ some sections due to comments and observations made by the stakeholders as well as the issue on barangay boundary conflicts,” Sicat said citing the plans were completed in July, this year.

The city government has earlier hired the Palafox Associates to conduct a study and develop this city’s comprehensive land use plan and Zoning Ordinance, which are components of the MDP.