All eyes on booming Nasugbu

Batangas, a mere two-hour drive from Manila, is among the provinces at the center of the Duterte administration’s massive Build Build Build infrastructure program.

With an eye on improving the transport of goods and services, as well as accessibility to neighboring regions, the government has completed several key projects which benefit Batangas, including the concreting of the General Aguinaldo-Magallanes-Nasugbu Road and the widening of the Bauan-Mabini Road.

In the 2018 Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index, Batangas was ranked 9th out of 75 provinces, primarily on the back of its economic dynamism, government efficiency, infrastructure, and resiliency.

“In the coming years, Batangas is seen to continue to play its significant part in the growth and development of the country,” said Governor Hermilando Mandanas during this year’s Batangas Development Summit. “This positions the province at the threshold of being directly drawn into the circuit of various economic, social, and recreational activities,” Mandanas added.

The municipality of Nasugbu, in particular, has positioned itself not just as a preferred tourist destination, but also as a competitive investment location as well. Among the first class municipalities in Batangas, Nasugbu has the third highest revenue at P273.4 million last year. Of the 1,354 municipalities nationwide ranked in the 2018 competitiveness index, it placed 374th in terms of economic dynamism, 183rd in terms of infrastructure, and 377th in terms of resilience.

Tourists flock to Nasugbu to enjoy its beach resorts. In 2007, through an executive order signed by former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Nasugbu was declared a special tourism zone, covering Punta Fuego and the Mounts Palay-Palay and Mataas-na-Gulod Protected Landscape, where Pico de Loro is located, among others.

Club Punta Fuego remains an iconic leisure destination in Nasugbu. The members-only resort features Spanish-Mediterranean rooms and casitas, a nine-hole golf course, a 20-seater theater, and a water sports hub which offers kayaking, wakeboarding, and diving. On the other hand, mountain trekking options in Pico de Loro, Mount Talamitam and Mount Batulao continue to attract the more adventurous weekend warriors.

Several residential properties have also either been completed or broken ground, including Freia, SM Prime’s luxury condominium in Pico de Loro within its Hamilo Coast development.

SM has, likewise, recently acquired a six hectare property in the Palm Estates Commercial complex fronting the National Road, signaling a widening interest among the country’s top developers and investors in Nasugbu. Roxaco Land Corp. has also successfully completed seven residential and commercial developments within the municipality – a testament to the increasing strength of the local demand for housing and commercial activity. Landco Pacific introduced the residential resort concept in Nasugbu featuring the extremely successful Peninsula de Punta Fuego and Terrazas de Punta Fuego projects.

As the municipality becomes increasingly urbanized, the government has taken steps to address the need for faster and more efficient transportation. The widening of the LemeryTaal Diversion Road has addressed the traffic gridlock along the national road network leading to tourism areas in Nasugbu. There is also the P22.43-billion Cavite-Batangas Expressway in the pipeline, a 49-kilometer expressway that will connect Cavite and Batangas, with a spur road to Tagaytay City terminating in Nasugbu. Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. has bagged the original proponent status for the project, which is expected to reduce travel time from Governor’s Drive to Nasugbu by 58 minutes.