DUROS SETS SIGHTS ON TOURISM, TO ERECT CONDOTEL IN PANGLAO
The Liloan-based company is cashing in on the country’s thriving tourism sector by opening the 38-room Gana Siargao Island Resort in December 2018
The group is also building a condo-hotel project in Panglao Island which slated for completion in the first or second quarter of 2020. It will be leased to a Chinese company based in Chongqing, China
Tourism is the new direction for the Duros Group of Companies this year.
The Liloan-based company on Friday, Jan. 4, announced it has set aside a P9 billion budget this year with the bulk dedicated to the construction of tourism-related businesses.
“We will go full thrust on all possible tourism-oriented opportu-Manufacturing nities,” said Rafaelito Barino, chairman of the Duros Group.
Barino, during the sixth State of Duros Address (Soda), unveiled the group’s expansion plans not only in Cebu but also in tourist-rich locations like Siargao Island in Surigao Del Norte and Panglao Island, Bohol.
Soda is an annual gathering of core teams of the 11 companies under Duros Group. The annual meeting unveils the company’s business direction for the year.
“This is the first time that we ventured outside Cebu,” Barino said.
The group said it is cashing in on the country’s thriving tourism industry.
Barino said they recently opened a 38-room Gana Siargao Island Resort to take advantage of the island’s robust tourism business there and high influx of local and foreign tourists. Gana Resort is positioned to attract tourists who flock to the famous surfing capital of the country. The resort sits on a 3,000square meter (sq.m.) property.
Condotel in Panglao
Moreover, Barino said they will construct a condominium-hotel project on a 3,000-sq.m. lot in Panglao which will be leased to a Chinese company based in Chongqing, China.
“Hopefully, it will be completed in the first or second quarter of 2020. It’s near the exit of the Panglao International Airport and it will be leased by a Chinese company that has an existing tour agency where they charter two flights from Cebu to Panglao,” Barino said.
Bohol’s newest airport was opened on Nov. 28 last year.
With Duros Development Corp. as the core business unit of the group, Barino said they have also acquired their own heavy equipment and manpower.
“Last year, we’re just trying to dip our fingers but it turns out that we need to branch out and acquire independent, heavy equipment and manpower because the projects’ operations is not isolated,” he said.
The group is also involved in major national-funded projects through asphalting works and other road developments in Cebu, Tacloban and Surigao.
Fe Barino, president of the Duros Group, said they already have a 1,000-strong workforce and this is continually growing.
Meanwhile, other accomplishments of the group last year included their acquisition of P200 million worth of heavy equipment, asphalt batching plant in Tacloban and concrete batching plant in Siargao and their participation in the construction of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) runway.
The Duros Group of Companies is involved in agri-building, development, holding, food chain, manufacturing, properties, construction, educational institution, foundation, recreation and real estate.