Bloomberry unit to put up $308-M Solaire cruise port

MANILA, Philippines — A subsidiary of Bloomberry Resorts Corp. has  proposed to build a $308 million cruise port in Parañaque City, the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority(TIEZA) said.

In a statement, TIEZA said it had forwarded the proposal of Sureste Properties Inc.(SPI) for the development of the Solaire Cruise Center (SCC) to the Office of the President.

The proposal includes marine and terminal facilities, homeport and port-of-call operations, an expanded harbor offering dining, shopping, entertainment and maritime recreation, and walkable esplanades and plazas.

Envisioned to be a catalyst for economic development, SCC aims to bring home Filipinos who are working in cruise tourism and accelerate development of seafarer training in the Philippines.

The project , which is seen to help decongest traffic in airports, is expected to be completed in the next two to 10 years.

“President Duterte expressed no objection to the proposal subject to the compliance of all government required permits and environmental clearances. He made reference in particular to the impact to the environment and his policy of zero tolerance on corruption,” TIEZA said.

“By 2020, the first phase, at $82 million project cost, will prioritize the main navigation components for the SCC and the construction of the berth for the homeport (which will initially be a port-of-call facility),” TIEZA said.

“The project shall be applied for designation as a Tourism Enterprise Zone (TEZ) of TIEZA, under which the proponent can avail of fiscal and non-fiscal incentives and pursue other workable expectations,” it added.

Last April, Bloomberry announced it would borrow a total of P73.5 billion from a syndicate of banks to be used for its refinancing and working capital requirements.

Bloomberry Resorts & Hotels Inc. (BRHI) will act as the borrower and mortgagor while SPI will be the mortgagor, pledgor and surety.

Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade posed no objection to the proposal as he emphasized the urgent need for a dedicated port for cruise and complementary facilities. 

National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Ernesto Pernia also welcomed the proposal of the Sureste group and mentioned the possibility of putting up peripheral ports by other investors in the other regions to support the Manila Cruise Port.

Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) general manager Jay Santiago gave the proponent the go signal to develop a private commercial cruise terminal port facility located at Barangay Tambo, Parañaque City subject to the submission of an environmental compliance certificate (ECC).

TIEZA is inviting bidders for the consultancy services on the feasibility study for the construction of a cruise port facility and terminal in the cities covering portions of Parañaque and Pasay cities.