Andrew Tan firm sets P20-B capex for tourism estates

MANILA, Philippines - Global-Estate Resorts Inc. (GERI), a 60-percent owned unit of tycoon Andrew Tan’s Alliance Global Group Inc. (AGI), has set a P20-billion capital expenditure program over the next four or five years to roll out two major integrated tourism-oriented estates in Tagaytay and Boracay, as it hopes to take advantage of the next tourism wave.

With the country on the cusp of a tourism boom, GERI is gearing up to become a leading player in the leisure industry with Boracay Newcoast and Twin Lakes which feature large master-planned world-class resorts, envisioned to set new standards in the Philippine tourism industry.

Alain A. Sebastian, assistant vice-president at GERI, said the 140-hectare Boracay Newcoast, the single largest piece of land in Boracay spanning 14 percent of the world-famous vacation destination, is in partnership with First Georgetown Ventures Inc., a company owned by businessman George Yang who controls the Philippine franchise of global fastfood chain McDonalds. GERI and other subsidiaries will be spending P15 billion to develop this project from 2011 to 2015.

Boracay Newcoast, which will include an 18-hole championship-grade golf course, is seen to bolster Boracay’s long-term tourism growth, attracting 350,000 more tourists. 

The project will also include four world-class hotels with a total of 1,500 rooms, specialty and boutique beachfront hotels, private villas and a variety of health and wellness centers.

GERI has tapped three international hotel brands plus a local brand, to be managed by AGI, to ensure a high level of customer service and satisfaction.

Its major centerpiece would be Newcoast Station, an expansive grand plaza and entertainment center, set right at the center of the project’s kilometer-long white beach. The plaza is encircled by a luxury hotel block and a retail strip with shops, restaurants and bars.

“We believe Boracay Newcoast is in a good position to positively impact Boracay and its residents. In terms of per capita income, we expect it to more than double from P40,000 levels to beyond P90,000 in the next five years,” Sebastian said.

He said Boracay Newcoast is expected to generate at least 3,000 new jobs.

In 2010, tourist arrivals to Boracay reached a high of 779,666, up 20 percent from the previous year. Tourism receipts last year also hit a record P14 billion. Aklan Governor Carlito Marquez previously announced the government’s campaign to attract a million tourists to the province by 2012, a goal originally set for 2013.

Also expected to boost tourism in the country is Twin Lakes, a 1,149-hectare community near Metro Tagaytay that will require an investment of about P5 billion. The project is targeted to become a premier medical and educational tourism destination.

The initial phase of the project overlooks panoramic views of its very own lake as well as Taal Lake. It features a vineyard and chateau, the Twin Lakes hotel and spa, a shopping village, residential villas and condominiums, and a sports and country club.

Succeeding phases will include a golf course, a diverse set of residential communities, international hotels, plantation estate, botanical gardens, lake view manor, mountain-inspired lodging and facilities, health and wellness centers, boarding schools and retirement villages complete with modern medical amenities.

With its strategic location, Twin Lakes offers a resort lifestyle anchored on Tagaytay’s unmatched nature views and year-round cool weather.

Early this year, AGI completed its purchase of a controlling stake in Fil-Estate, which was later renamed Global-Estate Resorts Inc. GERI is expected to develop over 1,000 hectares of prime land in Boracay, Tagaytay and Nasugbu, Batangas into world-class tourism estates.

AGI, on other hand, is one of the country’s largest conglomerates with interests in real estate development, food and beverage, quickservice restaurants, gaming and tourism.