Monday, April 28, 2008 MMDA to inaugurate 2nd 'Gwapotel' inn for workers
AN ABANDONED private hospital converted into a worker's inn will be inaugurated by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) on May 1 to serve as the agency's Labor Day present to thousands of blue and white collar workers and transients expected to use the facility.
Featuring more amenities than the first "Gwapotel" launched also during last year's Labor Day celebration, the facility, according to MMDA chairman Bayani Fernando, would help ease congestion in Metro Manila by giving out-of-town workers an inexpensive place to stay.
He said the second "Gwapotel" features amenities one normally found in an economy class airline including air-conditioned bedroom with three-deck capsular beds, equipped with good lumbar support.
The capsular beds also come equipped with a tubular control panel for individual spotlight, air-condition thermostat adjustment and piped-in music.
"This facility is designed not only for laborers and vendors but also for blue and white collar workers," Fernando said.
"This is an enviable space for Gwapotel guests who can afford the luxury of an eight-hour sleep plus shower bath for the measly amount of P25," he added.
Newspapers and magazines will also be provided to the guests.
Workers can also avail of cheap breakfast and brunch at the canteen located at the ground floor of the three-storey building.
The MMDA spent P10.7 million for the renovation of the building, formerly Emmanuel Hospital, located at Jose Abad Santos Avenue in Tondo, Manila.
The hospital's owner through the Privatization Management Office of the Department of Finance has agreed to rent out the old building to the MMDA for P200,000 monthly.
Fernando said they are eyeing the construction of additional "Gwapotel" in Metro Manila to accommodate the increasing demand.
The first "Gwapotel" inn, a joint venture between the MMDA and the National Power Corporation (NPC) along Bonifacio Drive in Port Area, Manila was generating about P400,000 to P500,000 a month, the agency said.
The 710-bed inn posted an average occupancy rate of 73 percent or 519 guests daily since its inauguration last year. (AH/Sunnex)
