Previous Story
Administration says La Fiesta remains ‘viable’
|
Posted on Mar 16 2005
The Babauta administration believes that the government-owned La Fiesta complex in San Roque remains a viable business, citing that it can be used for a number of development projects.
Press secretary Peter A. Callaghan said the administration is currently weighing “several options” for La Fiesta.
“There are plans. There are options that the administration is looking at concerning La Fiesta,” he said.
Gov. Juan N. Babauta, who was scheduled to discuss “the future” of the complex last Tuesday, decided to cancel the news conference.
Babauta was expected to introduce on Tuesday former senator Ramon “Kumoi” Guerrero as his newly hired electrical engineering consultant for La Fiesta.
Callaghan said the governor had to attend to an emergency to explain the cancellation of the news briefing. He said the La Fiesta tour and press conference would have to be rescheduled.
Meantime, Callaghan said there are at least five or six options for the mall.
He said the administration’s invitation for the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. and Northern Marianas College to use the former shopping complex as their respective office and campus remains open.
He said the complex may also be used as a public high school in view of the current need for a new secondary school in the northern area of Saipan.
Further, he said two investors wanting to develop postsecondary programs in the CNMI could use portions of the three-phase complex.
La Fiesta, which used to belong to Guam-based Coco’s Lagoon, was purchased by NMC in 2003 for its Pacific Gateway program, which never took off.
The $7.5 million acquisition was made using a $3.5 million federal grant money from the Governor’s Office as deposit.
When the college faced warnings from its accrediting commission due to funding woes, its officials decided to let go of the facility and turn it over to the Governor’s Office through a memorandum of agreement. The Governor’s Office formally assumed ownership of the facility early this year.
