Ciudad project draws interest from various hotel operators

Four local and foreign hotel operators have expressed interest to partner with Fifth Avenue Property Development Corporation to open a 300-room hotel with Casino at the government-owned property in Banilad.

Fifth Avenue Development Corporation, a consortium of local and foreign investors, was given the right to develop the Cebu provincial government-owned property in Banilad adjacent to the Cebu Asiatown IT Park.

Next year, the consortium will have to decide which hotel management chain or hotel investor the company would partner with in building a business hotel in the area, said Jose Allado Jr., the consortium's spokesperson in a press conference.

Allado said the consortium may construct the hotel building, but the management will be given to a hotel management company.

"We might build the hotel, but not necessarily," he said.

Initially, the company planned to open 120 to 150 rooms for the hotel's phase 1 project, but including phase 2 developments it targets to build a total of 300 rooms.

For now, Fifth Avenue has prioritized the construction of its commercial component which will be operational by December of next year.

However, Allado said hotel construction will start in the middle of next year, as soon as the company decides which of the four interested hotel companies will be chosen as the company's partner.

Part of the company's tentative plan is to make the hotel much affordable for businessmen transients, and that a Casino facility is one of the attractions.

The consortium has allotted P1.2 billion for the creation of total tourism commercial structures called Ciudad.

Although the hotel structure is also equally important to complement this new integrated tourism shopping, entertainment and leisure destination within the 2.5-hectare property, Allado said construction was targeted to next year, because the company still has to decide which hotel chain will be fit to run the company's preferred hotel concept.

The consortium targets to turn-over the Ciudad's commercial spaces to tenants by August of 2007. Earth-shaking works, like building the soil foundation will start before few days from now, while vertical construction of the project starts early January.

The Fifth Avenue consortium is composed of Cebuano businessman Robert Dino, with international partners, WLG Singapore, China Team, and IPay Limited Hong Kong. The group is given a 50-year lease contract by the Cebu Provincial government renewable after the first 25 years.

WLG Company is engaged in entertainment leisure businesses in Singapore, China Team is into construction like hotel and tourism oriented development projects. While IPay Limited Hong Kong, is into financial services.