Rockwell building P4-B beach resort in Mactan

MANILA, Philippines - Rockwell Land Corp. is investing up to P4 billion in a beach resort in Mactan, Cebu to take advantage of the tourism boom in the country.

Nestor Padilla, president and CEO of Rockwell Land, said the 300-room resort in Cebu would feature sky suites on its upper floors with panoramic views of the 25- meter beachfront.

The resort, which will be under the Aruga brand, will have private villas that will give guests direct access to the beach.

“We are excited about our first resort development, Punta Engano in Mactan, Cebu and looking at Iloilo for expansion,” Padilla said.

Construction of the Mactan resort is targeted to start in the third quarter of 2017 and slated for completion in 2021.

 The project is expected to generate some P300 to P400 million in revenues annually upon the completion of the project.

 “The strong interest from our roster of investors and partners to roll out new ventures outside Metro Manila is evidence of not only the strength of Rockwell’s hotel and leisure business but also reflects our collective vision to develop prime tourist locations like Mactan Island as the country experiences a tourism renaissance,” Padilla said.

Rockwell Land is also building a 280-room Aruga Hotel in Makati, its first urban resort themed hotel in the city. It will feature a 1,400-seater ballroom, specialty restaurants, a fitness gym, meeting rooms and an executive lounge.

In the first quarter, Rockwell Land reported a P342 million net income with its hotel operations generating P90 million in revenues.

Last year, the Lopez-owned property company earned P1.6 billion or five percent higher than the yar earlier.

Revenues from condominium sales reached P6.2 billion while revenues from commercial development business jumped 59 percent to P2.1 billion.

Hotel operations under the Aruga brand generated P260 million in revenues, up 189 percent from P90 million.

Rockwell is targeting a double digit growth in net income this year.

“We are still aiming for a double digit growth,” said Ellen Almodiel, chief finance officer.