AS Cagayanons love to dine out, a businessman is planning to construct a floating restaurant along the Cagayan de Oro River.
Vice Mayor Ian Acenas, chair of the City Council's Committee on Tourism, said entrepreneur Frumencio A. Lao has submitted a request to operate a floating fine dining restaurant.
Acenas said the floating restaurant would boast two stationary components with three level structures on top of a Catamaran-type boat to be located in front of City Hall.
Based on Lao's request, the floating restaurant can accommodate about 400 dine-in customers.
Acenas said Lao is also planning to operate a motorized floating restaurant with a Catamaran design, which will cruise the Cagayan River.
He said the restaurant can accommodate about 50 dine-in customers and will have stopover zones in Barangay 6, Toribio Chaves Sts., Macanhan in Barangay Carmen, Zone 4 Pasil in Kauswagan, Punta Bonbon, and Punta Macabalan with customers giving not only delectable food but a complete view of the river.
In his request, Lao said the floating restaurant will surely make a new tourist attraction in the city with its "design, ambiance, quality of service, array of unique mouth watering native and foreign menu as its outmost priority."
Lao said part of the business proposal is to help clean the Cagayan de Oro River.
In reviewing the proposal, Acenas said Lao must make sure that the floating restaurant must be very durable to prevent any untoward incident during heavy rains or flood.
"The City Government welcomes this new attraction to our city and is in favor of the proposed restaurant. We are extending our full support to this project as this will give a boost to our city," Acenas said.
He added the project would help generate local employment in the city and provide a boost to the tourism industry.