The city government has entered into a 10-year build-transfer-maintain agreement with private proponent High-Data Infra Corp. to develop the landmark Bacolod Super City Project”

Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez and High-Data Infra executive Danny Hernandez signed the PHP2.105-billion contract Monday afternoon to develop a central hub for monitoring diverse conditions and incidents and enhance the delivery of frontline and backroom services and transactions.

“This agreement will usher Bacolod into a new era. We can all be proud that Bacolod is moving forward in its commitment to ensure its transformation into a super city by introducing modern technology in our daily transactions,” Benitez said during the signing ceremony at the Bacolod City Government Center main lobby.

The Bacolod Super City Project is a key public-private partnership (PPP), harnessing private sector expertise toward a more connected and future-ready Bacolod.

In his message, PPP Center Deputy Executive Director Eleazar Ricote said the project is “a significant milestone in Bacolod’s journey towards becoming a smarter and resilient city.”

“We’re happy that among the first local government units to proceed and reach this milestone under the current PPP Law is Bacolod City,” he said.

Set to start this year, the Bacolod Super City Project has various components to be implemented in the next 10 years.

Among them is a centralized command center located in Barangay Taculing for monitoring traffic, natural disasters and criminal activities, as well as coordinating emergency responses and disseminating public alerts.

Also included are the installation of intelligent streetlamps poles equipped with video surveillance and analytics in about 150 locations, and the development of a property tax assessment system for efficient transaction in tax collection and planning.

Another component is the development of a comprehensive geographic information system (GIS) using ArcGIS software to facilitate creation of maps, spatial analysis and data integration to improve operational efficiency and data sharing within local government departments.

Hernandez said the implementation of the e-gov (electronic government) component will start this year while the centralized command center system is seen to be operational in two years.

“On the sixth year, all the infrastructure, all the e-gov components will be fully operational and we will continuously maintain it to ensure that all components are working efficiently,” Hernandez said. (PNA)