Bago mayor eyes to develop three sites as tourism enterprise zones

Recognizing the potentials in terms of boosting the local economy, the top official of the City Government of Bago is eyeing to develop three of their sites as tourism enterprise zones (TEZ).

Mayor Nicholas Yulo, said Monday, he is planning to "fuse" Buenos Aires Mountain Resort and Rafael M. Salas Park and Nature Center, all in Barangay Ilijan, making it one zone for tourism enterprise development.

These are on top of the 15-hectare portion of Bantayan Park at Barangay Poblacion, which is being positioned to become the city's new commercial growth area.

Yulo, who attended the Tourism Investment Forum in Bacolod City recently, is amenable that they might be able to attract more locators if these sites are developed into TEZs.

"It will make our tourism sites more attractive to tourists as well as investors," he said, adding that developing these areas into TEZs "will enable us to source funding for additional structures and amenities aside from incentives from the government."

The designation of TEZs is under the Tourism Investment and Enterprise Zone Authority (Tieza).

There are two kinds of TEZs, the private and the public or flagship zones.

For private TEZs, or areas with private individual owners, the owners are the ones presenting their development plan. The Tieza then check whether it is feasible and sustainable.

For flagship TEZs, meanwhile, the agency is doing the master development plan for the areas identified through an inventory created by the DOT and local government units (LGUs).

Through the revenue regulations implemented in 2016, the Tieza was able to provide fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to investors with TEZ designated properties.

The Department of Tourism in Region 6 earlier said the development of more TEZs in Negros Occidental will contribute to improving the province's economy mainly through the creation of more employment opportunities.

For Bago City, the local government has earlier opened the development of Bantayan Park to interested investors.

The idea is for the investor to develop the whole 15 hectares, and then a portion of it will be granted to them for commercial operation.

The development with an indicative cost of at least P1 billion includes commercial and open spaces, playground, permanent structures for 24 barangay booths, and small fish landing port and market, among others.

Yulo said there are already investors who expressed interest to develop Bantayan Park, however, he has yet to wait for the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) to pass an ordinance providing for public-private partnership (PPP) projects in the city.

Also, the mayor has yet to discuss with the members of the SP his plans to develop Bantayan Park and two other sites into TEZs.

"This PPP Ordinance will not only cover Bantayan Park but other developments as well," Yulo said, adding that it will serve as a mechanism for the city to be more ready for future developments.