There are three current flyover construction projects in the City today – and one thing to look forward to is the Puerto-Sayre flyover, as it should be the first among the three to be finished.

The Puerto-Sayre flyover is a P362 million project, which should be completed by next month, August 2011. The flyover will be 195 lineal meters long and is foreseen to greatly improve traffic congestion in the area. The flyover is located in Puerto, specifically the Bukidnon-Cagayan highway junction, which is regularly congested with traffic from motorists and buses travelling to and from the city to Bukidnon and Agusan.

With the structure completed, motorists from the city going eastbound to Butuan or Agusan will simply pass through the flyover while vehicles from Bukidnon will be able to smoothly pass through the underpass.

The First Type in Mindanao

The permanent two-lane flyover features pre-fabricated materials, which makes it the first of its kind to be built in Northern Mindanao. Of the total project price, P200 million is funded by the French Government, while the rest is funded by the government as part of the country’s Mega Bridges for Urban and Rural Development Project.

Prior to the construction of the flyover, a P10 million road widening project was also done on the area to prepare the road for the construction. The road widening project was started in January of this year. As of June 2011, the flyover was already 73% complete, so its completion should be expected by August of this year.

Other Flyovers in the City

Aside from the Puerto-Sayre flyover, there are also two other flyovers under construction in the city today. These are located at CM Recto Avenue and Masterson Road, Macanhan, Carmen. These flyovers, however, are funded by the local city government and contracted to UKC Builders Inc.

The flyover in CM Recto will allow motorists from the east to easily breeze through without the need to stop at the C.M. Recto junction, which is known for its traffic jams, especially in the late afternoons. The overpass in Carmen, on the other hand, will also decongest the amount of traffic that usually swells in the Macanhan and Lumbia junction, right at the foot of Masterson Avenue.

Indeed, with the Puerto-Sayre flyover as the first project – and the two other structures in C.M. Recto and Carmen to follow – Cagayan de Oro is set to see numerous improvements within the following months until next year. Aside from these three awaited structures, there are more things to expect in the city, from the new Ayala operated Centrio Mall to the new Paseo Del Rio Complex at the Rodelsa Circle.

Don’t forget to check other articles from CDOkay for more information about further developments in the City of Golden Friendship.

-Justine B. Raagas-

Primavera Residences, Cagayan de Oro’s first eco-friendly condominium, was launched July 5, 2011 in simple ceremonies at the project’s site along Trade Street in the Pueblo Business Park.

Misamis Oriental Governor Oscar Moreno graced the event, and was joined onstage by ItalPinas President and CEO Romolo Nati, ItalPinas Chairman Jose Leviste, Jr., Pueblo de Oro President & COO Rommel Leuterio and Arsenio Manuta of the project’s contractor AVPamatong.

A toast to CDO's first eco-friendly building.

The landmark building is rising at the Pueblo de Oro Business Park in Uptown CdeO. The area has become the city’s new growth center, with a major shopping mall, schools and premier residential subdivisions only minutes away. Construction has already begun on its second floor.

The 10-storey eco-friendly twin-tower condominium project applies state-of-the-art energy saving facilities and construction design that offer at least 20% reduction in energy consumption. The Italian-designed condominiums are constructed along the principles of sustainable architecture such as generating its own energy through solar cells at its rooftop, minimizing power usage, and maximizing natural light and ventilation.

Nati, an architect from Rome, Italy, stated that the features they used to keep the building cool, such as the use shadow cooling and ventilation, are not actually modern concepts.  “The bahay kubo follows this criteria, so we are not inventing anything new,” says Nati.

MyShelter Foundation Executive Director Illac Diaz

MyShelter Foundation Executive Director and green living advocate Illac Diaz expressed his admiration of the project. “You’re going to see that with climate change in a resource-competitive world, this kind of green design technology is going to help you. It is a pleasure to see the work that ItalPinas is doing and changing the way living in an apartment can be.”

The E-Shuttle

In relation, launched together with Primavera Residences were Pueblo de Oro’s electric shuttles that would ferry passengers around the Township. The e-shuttle was supplied by Philippine Utility Vehicles, Inc. (PhUV), makers of electric jeepneys. PhUV Vice President Rommel Juan stated that he was happy when shuttle operator Elena Orpilla contacted him, and confirmed that this is the first electric vehicle of its kind in Cagayan de Oro.

Tower A of Primavera Residences is expected to be completed in June 2012. To date, 40% of its units have been sold.

(Photos and press release courtesy of Grace Garcia)

The Xavier University Magis Complex is slowly nearing its completion and should be finished anytime this month or the next. The completion of the building is a little bit behind its projected completion date of May 2011, but nevertheless, it is about to be finished and that still calls for a celebration!

Most of the heavy work in the building is over and now, finishing touches are the only things that are currently being done inside the building. These include painting of the façade and rooms of the buildings, installing cubicles in the second floor and attaching other fixtures throughout the whole building.

In fact, last week, some students were already bringing in some office supplies into one of the spaces in the building.

What to Expect from The Xavier University Magis Complex

Upon its inauguration, the Xavier University Magis Complex will be the newest building in the sprawling school campus (although the construction of another new building not far away from the Magis Complex is also underway.)

The complex is set to house an open air canteen, which will of course have food stalls and more stores. The second floor will house the Office of Student Affairs, as well as cubicles for the different student organizations. There will also be a walk–in book store. The third floor of the building will be a multi-purpose rooftop that will serve as a venue for different student activities.

The new canteen is a great improvement as it is optimally located right in the middle of the campus – making it easier to access for those coming from the school entrance or the library. The opening of this new canteen will also greatly reduce the congestion of the canteen located adjacent to the Agriculture and STC buildings, especially during lunch time. The new canteen will also provide extra space for more food businesses – which is good news for students who might want to try their hand at entrepreneurship and the food business.

Other New Developments to Expect In Xavier University

Speaking of student entrepreneurship, another school building is under construction and will serve as a mini–mall where Xavier University students can establish and market their own home grown brands, products and services. The new building will be called The XU-Pryce Center for Entrepreneurship and will rise in between the Science Center and Agriculture Buildings.

The Center will be fitted with stalls and cubicles that will house the entrepreneurship efforts of students selected for the school’s Student Entrepreneurship Program.

Construction for this new building started in March this year and is set to be completed by September.

With these two developments inside the campus, Xavier University students have a lot to look forward to in the coming months. As the XU’s Magis Student Complex is nearing its completion date, we should be witnessing its inauguration anytime soon.

-Justine B. Raagas-

The 15th of June 2011 was a night to remember for the 30 young ladies who graced the stage of SM CDO’s Canopy Area as this was the day they participated in the grand coronation night of the Miss Teen Cagayan de Oro 2011 pageant.

Needless to say, the night was full of glitz, glamour and beauty. But in the end, only one lucky teen went home with the crown.

It was the lovely Ashbelle Gighe Toreno who won the hearts and votes of the judges, and took the crown, beating out the 29 other beauties. A 15-year-old BS Accountancy freshman of Xavier University, Toreno is from Barangay 29. She also won the minor awards Miss Globe and Bb. Mestiza Soap.

The pageant was composed of several segments, including the casual wear, playsuit and evening gown portions. After wowing the audience and judges with their red carpet-worthy dazzling gowns, all 30 contestants moved on to the first elimination part of the event. Fifteen candidates made it to the next part, which was a fresh and interesting question and answer portion. Each of the 15 remaining Miss Teen CDO aspirants was shown a picture of a CDO attraction or historical site. They were then made to reflect and express their thoughts about the CDO landmarks.

From the 15 contestants, 10 were eliminated and five hopefuls still had a chance to compete for the title.

Finally, it was time for the last question round. Each of the five promising candidates answered a question asked by a specific judge. They all gave their best shot. While some answered quite confidently, others looked like they were a little bit on the nervous side.

Ashbelle Gighe Toreno’s answer struck a chord among the judges and the audience. When asked how she would promote Cagayan de Oro as a potential business destination for foreign investors despite talk of terrorism in Mindanao, Toreno confidently and wittily answered, which was probably the main reason why she brought home the bacon (and the crown). She’s got the beauty and the brains!

All candidates were beautiful, and one even made some audience members think that that must’ve how Venus Raj looked like when she was in her teens. However, at the end of the day, intelligence reigned and was the most important factor in choosing the winner. In fact, articulateness and intelligence comprised 50% of the judges’ criteria, which was followed by beauty (40%), and poise and confidence (10%).

Many of the contestants didn’t go home empty-handed, though. There were winners of such awards as Miss Friendship, Miss Photogenic, Best in Casual Wear, Best in Playsuit, Best in Evening Gown, Miss Kutis Silka and Miss Juicy Cologne among others.

-Gillian Abonitalla-