AGI, partner commit $1.6B in tourism investments

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MANILA, Philippines--Tycoon Andrew Tan’s holding firm, Alliance Global Group Inc., is investing up to $1.6 billion within the next five to six years in two integrated tourism developments—“Newport City” in Pasay and “Bay Shore” at the Manila Bay reclamation area.

“We want to be the largest tourism player in the country,” AGI president Kingson Sian said in a presentation during the company’s stockholders meeting held on Thursday at the newly opened Newport City tourism estate.

“We are very bullish about the tourism industry in Asia and there is no reason why the Philippines cannot be a major player in this industry,” Sian said.

The 25-hectare Newport City is a joint venture between AGI subsidiary Travellers International Hotel Group Inc. and Star Cruises Ltd., the world’s third largest cruise line operator and part of the Genting Berhad group of Malaysia. The joint venture committed to invest P30 billion in this project.

Sian said Newport City would be positioned as the gateway to Philippine tourism owing to its proximity to the NAIA 3 terminal.

The tourism estate in Newport City, named Resorts World Manila (RMW), will feature a full array of entertainment facilities and services designed to attract domestic and international tourists.

Under the plan, RMW will have about 1,500 hotel rooms, including the recently opened Marriott Hotel and two other hotels under construction—Maxims Hotel and Remington Hotel.

There will also be a 1,000-seat Newport Performing Arts theater, four high-end cinemas, luxury shopping arcade and a four-story retail mall, gaming areas, restaurants, spas and dance clubs.

Newport City is expected to generate about 10,000 tourism-related jobs by 2011.

Travellers is embarking on another large-scale tourism development within the 90-hectare Entertainment City Manila, called the “Bay Shore,” which may include a theme park.

Sian said $1.6 billion in investment was the group’s commitment to Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.