BACOLOD City Mayor Evelio Leonardia is finalizing the construction of the city’s welcome area with property developer Megaworld Corp. in the boundary of Bacolod and Talisay City along the Bacolod-Silay Airport Access Road.
Leonardia said Sunday, April 22, that he will meet with the Megaworld officials Monday, April 23, to finalize the project design after Megaworld donated 2,000 square meters in the boundary of Bacolod and Talisay.
“This is in the concept of the Las Vegas welcome area where when you arrived in Las Vegas, you will see the big welcome sign, which it has become iconic, with parking areas for tourist to stop and take pictures, but what will make us better than Las Vegas is that we will put souvenir shops in the area,” he said.
Megaworld is currently putting up the high-end project in the area, in the Forbes Hill.
Leonardia said Megaworld is selling the lot in the area at P18,000 per square meter, but they will donate it to the city for the welcome arch project.
He said the lot will cost P36 million and they will dedicate it to the city for that purpose.
“When we are able to do that, we will be the only city in the Philippines to have a welcome area,” Leonardia added.
The mayor noted that tentative target to finish the project is on June 18 and he will also ask the Bredco Port officials to open its new port terminal on June 18 because that is the day that Bacolod Charter was signed.
“For us, it's like opening the city to the world. I subscribed to the projection that tourism is going to become the biggest industry in the world,” Leonardia said.
He said the Department of Tourism earlier confirmed that Negros Occidental, including its capital Bacolod City, catered to the second highest number of tourist in Western Visayas last year. (MAP)