|
Friday, November 04, 2004
Korean tourism spurs investment in complex
THE influx of Korean tourists in the country, particularly in Cebu, has encouraged a Korean company to invest a substantial amount for a project that will not only help boost Cebu’s tourism industry, but the export sector as well.
According to Mandaue City Mayor Teddy Ouano, World Greyhound Racing Park Inc. (WGRPI) will be investing millions of pesos for a commercial complex on an 11-hectare area—the lot occupied by the unfinished Uniwide warehouse—in the Mandaue reclamation area.
The complex will house an entertainment center, a 10-story hotel, a stadium and an international trade and exhibit center, he told a press conference last week.
Ouano said WGRPI has already deposited P3 million to the Mandaue City government to signify its intent to complete the project.
“If they don’t push through with the project, the money will go to the City government,” he said.
The company has also signed a 25-year lease contract.
Ouano said the complex is in addition to another multimillion-peso investment, also located in Mandaue City—the Cebu Boardwalk (CB) by Manila-based developer FF Cruz & Co. Inc.—which will also help boost the tourism potential of the province of Cebu.
He said the Korean firm wants to construct the hotel because South Korea has become Cebu’s top tourist market.
Reports from the Department of Tourism reveal that Koreans dominated the foreign arrivals for the most part of last year, outpacing Japanese tourists, traditionally the province’s top source of foreign tourists.
Hotel, Resort and Restaurant Association of Cebu vice president Marita Arambulo earlier said the “Korean phenomenon” was the biggest change in the tourism market.
Ouano said construction of the recreation center is now going on. The stadium and the hotel will follow. The construction of the exhibition center, which most exporters in Cebu have been clamoring for, will come last.
He also said the Department of Trade and Industry Cebu Provincial Office has informed his office that the Japan International Cooperation Agency has expressed its intention to fund the construction of the Cebu International Exhibit Center (Citec). Ouano earlier pledged to allocate a lot for the Citec. JBN
(November 4, 2004 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board.Click here. |
|
[return to top]
[home]
[network page]
|
LOCAL NEWS
BUSINESS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFESTYLE
FEATURE
SUPERBALITA
WEEKEND
|
