Century Properties to spend P20B for Palawan project

MANILA, Philippines – Century Properties Group Incorporated is spending P20 billion ($452.28 million) over a 10-year period for its first tourist resort project in Palawan.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange, Century Properties said it signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) to acquire 56 hectares of property for the development of a beachfront lifestyle destination in San Vicente, located northwest of Palawan.

With a total land area of 146,294 hectares, San Vicente is 140 times larger than Boracay Island in Panay.

“We have been able to purchase an exceptional block of land and are confident that given Century Properties’ long track record of delivering innovative branded real estate, we’ll be able to unlock the very significant long-term potential from this site,”  Century Properties founder and chairman Jose E.B. Antonio said  in a statement Tuesday, April 21.

Long-term maximization

Phase 1 of the project involves capital spending of P1.5 billion ($33.92 million) annually over the next 3 to 5 years.

Century Properties said the pace and timing of subsequent phases will be dependent on the sale of hotel villas and residential investment properties, which will form a significant part of the returns from the project.

“We’ll be able to focus on the long term-margin maximization of this project,” Antonio said.

One of San Vicente’s crown jewels is the Long Beach, a 14.7-kilometer stretch of immaculate sand and water that is 4 times the length of Boracay’s white beach.

San Vicente also has its own airport, with a new 2-kilometer runway and terminal that are projected to be completed in 2015, Century Properties said. The completion of airport project will enable regional carriers to fly directly to San Vicente, the property firm added.

Century Properties Hospitality Incoporated Chief Operating Officer Tim Hallett said the acquisition represents an important next step for Century Properties as it works toward positioning itself to benefit from the huge structural potential identified in the tourism and lifestyle sector in the Philippines.

Over the past 12 months, the property firm announced development plans for the Novotel at Acqua Private Residences to be completed in 2019 and the Phase 1 development of its 142-hectare Batulao project in Batangas.

“Tourism brings inclusive progress to the country, and our company seeks to contribute to the growth of Palawan as the next tourism hot spot which we feel in time will rival or even surpass the prestige of Boracay as an international beach destination,” Hallett said. – Rappler.com

$1 = P44.22