SUBIC BAY

P3.6-B golf course-leisure park to rise in Subic Freeport
Aug 29, 2017

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) has approved the proposal of a Korean-led company for the development of a P3.6-billion golf course and hotel and leisure facilities complex in the Subic Bay Freeport.

SBMA Administrator and CEO Wilma Eisma on Tuesday signed a 20-page lease and development agreement for the project, along with Suyong Kim, president of the proponent-company DMLeisure Corp.

Eisma said the proposed leisure complex that will be built in a 200-hectare portion of the Tipo Area here is expected to further boost eco-tourism in Subic, bolster investment, and increase livelihood opportunities in the area.

“We expect it to be another grand tourist destination in the region, another magnet for more down-line businesses and employment, as well as another distinctive landmark for the evolving Subic Freeport Zone,” Eisma said.

She noted that the project will be most accessible because it is to be located near the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx) and would be about a two-hour drive from Manila via the North Luzon Expressway, and about 45 minutes from the Clark Freeport via SCTEx.

According to the approved project proposal, DMLeisure Corp. will infuse a minimum investment of P3.6 billion, of which P2.6 billion would be allotted as development commitment. The project is scheduled to be completed in three phases within an eight-year period or in 2025.

For the first phase, the company will build an 18-hole golf course and clubhouse in a 120-hectare area. This will be finished within two years, or by 2019.

On the third year, DMLeisure Corp. will start the second phase of the project with the construction of hotel villas and commercial complex in a 67-hectare area. This phase is expected to be finished before the end of 2022.

The last stage of the project will be the construction of indoor and outdoor water theme parks, other tourism and leisure facilities, as well as condominium units within a 13-hectare area. The final phase is expected to be operating by 2025.

Another bit of good news for local residents, Eisma said, is DMLeisure’s commitment to generate a significant number of jobs. She said the company will be needing about 1,000 workers during the construction period and, upon project completion, will also be hiring a minimum of 1,000 employees for its various operations.

“DMLeisure is among the positive results of our intensified marketing and promotion campaign to convince investors and business communities from our neighbor countries to invest in Subic,” said Eisma, who recently spoke in Philippine investment roadshows in Taiwan and Australia.

Eisma said that with the entry of more investors, the SBMA will be working with the surrounding local government units (LGUs) to start developing light industrial parks and tourism and commercial areas, as demands for bigger spaces rise along with the influx of investments.

The SBMA official said that the new investment areas to be created within the nearby communities will become an extension of the Subic Bay Freeport as stipulated under Executive Order 675, which took effect in November 2007. This allowed LGUs, through the approval of the local council, to declare any part of their jurisdiction as additional secured area of the Subic Bay Special Economic and Freeport Zone (SSEFPZ) which shall be organized, administered, managed and operated directly by the SBMA. (30)

News 2017