ECONOMIC recovery in Cebu and the Visayas region is underway and is projected to happen at an “accelerated pace,” a business leader said on Tuesday.

Real estate veteran Jose Soberano III, chief executive officer of Cebu Landmasters Inc. (CLI), expressed this confidence during the company’s groundbreaking of its P4 billion mixed-use Masters Tower Cebu, located in the city’s premier business district.

Soberano projected a “strong economic bounceback.”

“CLI is confident that VisMin (Visayas and Mindanao) economic recovery is within view and will happen at an accelerated pace. We will be ready in three to four years for the bounceback with a long-awaited five-star hotel and prime office spaces in the iconic Masters Tower Cebu,” he said in a statement.

This new skyscraper will house the 195-room Sofitel Cebu City, to be operated by French hospitality giant Accor.

The 192-meter tower will offer Grade A office space within the city’s choicest business district.

The building set to be one of Cebu’s tallest is LEED Gold registered and will have eco-efficient features, making it attractive to global and other occupiers putting a premium on sustainability. (CSL)