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MPLA eyed to finance Plumeria funding need
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Posted on Jan 11 2005
The administration is looking at going back to the Marianas Public Lands Authority to ask for funding of the utility and roadways infrastructure of Plumeria Estates.
Gov. Juan N. Babauta said in an interview that the Housing Task Force continues negotiating with the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. regarding a proposal for CUC to borrow $5.5 million from the Marianas Public Land Trust to fund the housing project’s infrastructure construction.
Under this plan, $2.2 million of the loan will go to CUC for the construction of sewer lines, water lines, and power lines at Plumeria Estates. Babauta said repayment of the $2.2 million will be guaranteed from the utility charges of the 128 houses.
The other $3.3 million, on the other hand, will be used for the roads and drainage construction and will be repaid by the Governor’s Office.
But Babauta said that MPLA, which was earlier asked to put on hold the Housing Task Force’s $5.5-million funding request, remains an alternative funding source for repayment of the infrastructure project.
In the bid package, the contractor is supposed to use its own money to pay for the infrastructure, Babauta noted.
“Our role is to be sure that when the construction is done, we repay the contractor for the infrastructure development. That’s one of the things we’re looking at and I think we’re getting close to finalizing the plan. We’re getting help from MPLT and MPLA, and we’ll also tap some [capital improvement project] money,” he said.
The Plumeria Estates project involves the construction of new houses at approximately 13 hectares of land. Up to seven different styles of residential homes will be built based on plans and specifications provided by NMHC.
A total of 128 houses with two-, three-, and four-bedroom units will be available to first-time homeowners at a low price.
