City of San Fernando, Pampanga —The 98-year-old Pampanga Sugar Development Corp. is now being dismantled to pave the way for the construction of a P25-billion central business district, Mayor Edwin Santiago said yesterday.
Santiago said that project will be undertaken by the Megaworld Corp. for 10 years with integrated residential, offices, commercials, retail and institutional offices. There will also be a cyber park for business process outsourcing in 25 hectares of land owned by the sugar mills in Barangay Sto. Niño here.
The mayor said the business district will benefit not only the residents of the city but other nearby towns of Pampanga.
He added that the chimneys of the sugar mill will be retained or put in a museum. “They show the progress of the city since its foundation in 1874.”
The city of San Fernando is about 70 kilometers away from Manila via the North Luzon Expressway and 20 kilometers from Clark International Airport
Pasudeco was incorporated April 1918 and started its operation in 1921 as purchasing and processing company for the surrounding sugar plantations of Pampanga, Tarlac, Bataan and Zambales. The building was constructed by the Honolulu Irons Works.
A tragedy struck the sugar mill in 1939 when a labor dispute resulted in the death of three persons including Capt. Julian Olivas, Jose de Leon and Augusto Gonzales.