BAGUIO CITY – The local government announced that the Baguio Fire Station will be relocated to a 3,000-sure meter area owned by the State-run Bases and Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) so that the city will be able to maximize the use of the space that will be vacated for its 8-storey City Hall Annex Building that will constructed anytime this year.
Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong claimed that the site of the city fire station will be along the Loakan road wherein the property will also serve as the site for the regional offices of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) and the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD).
However, the local chief executive instructed the personnel in charge of preparing the plans and specifications of the city hall annex building to ensure that the Baguio Fire Station will still be using the site where the facility is still based while the construction of the city hall building will be underway.
He disclosed that the BFP has funds for the construction of the new Baguio Fire Station and the BFP-CAR regional office so that the said offices will be located in one area to prevent inconveniences to the public who transact business with the city and regional fire offices.
Earlier, the BCDA reportedly committed to cede to the BFP and the Baguio Fire Station more or less 3,000 square meters from its existing property within the Camp John Hay area to be used as the relocation side for the city fire station and the BFP-CAR regional office considering that the area being currently used by the city fire station is no longer sufficient to accommodate its increasing number of fire trucks and other firefighting equipment being purchased for firefighting purposes.
The local government is contemplating in subjecting the P400 million earlier earmarked for the construction of the city hall annex building to public bidding after the completion of the architectural works so that the same will be completed in two years which has been programmed as the timetable for the realization of the multi-million development project.
At present, local officials and department heads are still assessing on what will be the set-up of the old city hall building and the city hall annex building so that the delivery of services to the people will not be compromised during the construction period as the old city hall building will also undergo the required renovation.
The local government plans to bid out the construction of the city hall annex building by the idle part of this year to ensure that it will be completed even before the lapse of the 2-year period provided for in the initial estimates of the project’s completion.
The city needs at least P800 million to bankroll the put up of the proposed 8-storey city hall annex building that will accommodate a huge portion of the offices from the main building wherein the same will have a solar panels roofing that will help in saving the local government from huge expenses on power consumption and green architecture pursuant to existing programs and projects geared setting an example for green buildings in the city.
There will also be an underground walkway that will be constructed to serve as a link between the city hall annex and the city hall main building to encourage people to walk when transacting with the different offices of the local government.
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