GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Aug. 12 (PIA)—- The city government here has granted SM Prime Holdings a 7-year tax holiday incentive in exchange of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects it has started to put in place.

As part of the company’s CSR, it has begun to mount a drainage system worth Php52.5 million, the City Public Information Office (CPIO) told PIA General Santos City.

The 2-km drainage will run from the six-hectare SM property site along Santiago Boulevard and San Miguel Street, all the way to the city’s wastewater treatment facility located at the Public Market and into Sarangani Bay.

A city government insider said wastewater coming from SM drainage pathway shall have been treated, cleaned and free of harmful bacteria and other life-threatening contaminants before it will actually be allowed to flow out the Bay.

Under normal condition, a local government unit only grants business establishments a 5-year tax holiday as embodied in its investment code unless there is a manifestation of concrete effort that goes beyond CSR, it was learned.

Mayor Darlene Antonino-Custodio considered this initiative as part of the public-private partnership (PPP) that the city government is espousing.

Custodio earlier said she supports President Benigno Aquino’s PPP direction believing that private sectors (PS) participation is an “effective tool” in achieving government’s vision of economic progress for the country especially in the countryside.

CPIO said understanding of the terms of the drainage project has been sealed in a memorandum of agreement (MOA) to formalize both parties’ convictions.

Secretary Elisea Guzon, presidential assistant to climate change, at a press briefing earlier held for the 4th population, health and environment (PHE) conference, lauded PPP in raising awareness especially in relation to protecting the environment.

She cited SM Prime Holdings as one of those the government has partnered with that went beyond its mere corporate social responsibility performance.

SM started building the drainage here in July this year and is expected to complete the whole system “after three months.”

Almost done with the construction of the building, SM Prime Holdings, one of the country’s famous operators of biggest chain of malls, is set to open in February 2012.

It has begun the Php2-billion mall construction late last year.

A traffic management plan along the busy intersections of Santiago Boulevard and San Miguel Street also forms part of the blueprint that was earlier presented to Mayor Custodio before the construction began. (CTA/PIA General Santos City)