Alphaland allots up to P400 M for high-end Aklan resort project

MANILA, Philippines - Ongpin-led Alphaland Corp. is setting aside as much as P400 million next year to jumpstart the development of a high-end, mixed-use resort on a 500-hectare lot in Aklan province in partnership with the Prudentialife Group of Companies of Ambassador Francisco Alba.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Alphaland said it forged an agreement to develop a property owned by Akean Resorts Corp., an affiliate of Prudentialife Group, into a masterplanned resort community to be called Alphaland Boracay Gateway.

In an interview, Alphaland president Mario A. Oreta said the project, adjacent to the Caticlan airport on Panay Island, could require total investments of over P1 billion.

Oreta said Alphaland Boracay Gateway is being positioned as an eco-resort destination featuring residential, retail and an exclusive polo and country club. It is designed to be a fully integrated leisure township development with a wide range of components including accommodations, as well as water sports and other recreational facilities, and large top-of-the-line homesteads.

Under the agreement, Akean will contribute the property while Alphaland will provide the necessary funding, equipment, materials, supplies, development works expertise, management, labor, supervision and related undertakings to develop the property.

Construction of the project is slated to start in January next year, with the target completion date set in the latter part of 2012.

Oreta said the company will use internally generated cash to fund the project.

He said the firm would be selling lots or membership shares.

To capitalize on a booming property market, Alphaland is going full blast with the development of new projects which include Balesin Island Club (another upscale resort complex to rise in Quezon province) and a self-contained mixed-use complex with a world-class marina and yacht club in a 32-hectare reclaimed land in Paranaque City.

Located on a 380-hectare property in Polillo, Quezon, Balesin will comprise six resort clusters, each with 12 residential villas. Development cost was placed at between $300 million to $400 million.

In addition, the company will also put up Alphaland Makati Tower, a 35-story building that will serve as the corporate headquarters of Alphaland and British investment fund Ashmore Group in the Philippines. The property, with an appraised value of P1.23 billion, will rise on a 2,400-square meter lot.

Alphaland has budgeted between P3 billion and P5 billion for its capital expenditures this year, which include the construction of the retail center and the city club for The Alphaland Makati Place, which consists of several high-end residential towers.

Alphaland Bay City will have the ultra-modern marina yacht club as its centerpiece which will be large enough to accommodate over 70 large yachts and one super yacht.

Alphaland holds a 20 percent stake in Shangri-La at the Fort, a combination of a luxury hotel skyscraper and luxury residences in the Bonifacio Global City. Slated for opening in 2014, Shangri-La at the Fort will offer 500 rooms.

Its first project, Alphaland Southgate Tower, is a 20-story structure offering a total of 36,000 square meters of leasable space.