P3.6-B golf course, leisure park deal inked in Subic
SUBIC BAY FREEPORT: A P3.6-billion golf course, hotel and leisure complex will soon rise here as the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) on Tuesday approved a proposal by a Korean-led company.
SBMA Administrator and CEO Wilma Eisma and DMLeisure Corp. President Suyong Kim signed a 20-page lease and development agreement covering the project.
To be built in a 200-hectare portion of the Tipo area, the hotel and leisure complex is expected to boost eco-tourism and increase livelihood opportunities in Subic.
“We expect it to be another grand tourist destination in the region, another magnet for more down-line businesses and employment, as well as another distinctive landmark for the evolving Subic Freeport Zone,” Eisma said after the signing ceremony.
Located near the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx), the site is about a two-hour drive from Manila via North Luzon Expressway, and about 45 minutes from the Clark Freeport via the SCTEx.
DMLeisure Corp. will infuse a minimum of P3.6 billion. The project is scheduled to be completed in three phases within eight years or by 2025. DMLeisure’s commitment will generate a significant number of jobs for local residents, Eisma noted.
The company will need up to 1,000 workers during the construction phase and at least another 1,000 employees once the complex is fully operational, she said.
“DMLeisure is among the positive results of our intensified marketing and promotion campaign to convince investors and business communities from our neighbor countries to invest in Subic,” Eisma said. She said the SBMA would be working with local government units to start developing light industrial parks and tourism and commercial areas as the demand for wider spaces would rise with the influx of new investments.
The SBMA official said new investment areas in nearby communities would become an extension of Subic Bay Freeport as stipulated under Executive Order 675, which took effect in November 2007.
LGUs, with the approval of the local council, will be able to declare any part of their jurisdiction as additional secured area of the Subic Bay Freeport and Special Economic Zone which will be organized, administered, managed and operated by the SBMA.