P13B Project in Laoag Mulled

LAOAG CITY, Dec. 30 – Laoag is developing a P13-billion seaside property that can be an ideal site for theme parks, resort or small to large-scale industries.

The Laoag City government has started developing the 80-hectare beach property, covering the eastern coastal villages of La Paz, Caaocan, Navotas and Talingaan, to a low-cost housing project and a sports facility.

Laoag Mayor Michael Fariñas said the city plans to develop the foreshore lot into a self-contained community complete with a housing area, a retirement village and an area for commercial and industrial establishments.

“The city is open to a joint venture agreement with interested parties and come up with a mutually beneficial development plan,” Fariñas said in his letter to prospective investors.

At present, the city government has built a two-hectare low-cost housing area while another two hectares have been set aside for the Laoag City Sports Center.
“This property faces the South China Sea (South Philippine Sea) with some parts uniquely covered by vast tracks of sand dunes,” Fariñas said.

He said the property offers a variety of investment potentials from tourism centers, socialized or retirement housing and economic zones.

Laoag has been expanding its investment area because the city’s business center has exceeded its capacity for large-scale industries. New businesses have avoided the city’s cramped business district and built their establishments in outlying villages that offer wider spaces.

Consistent with the Aquino administration’s public-private partnership program, the city government has been pushing the seaside lot as an investment center and harness Laoag’s position as one of the growth nodes under the Ilocos Region’s development plan.

Under a five-year development plan from 2011 to 2016, the Ilocos Regional Development Council laid down a road map leading to the establishment of the Ilocos provinces as the agribusiness and tourism powerhouse in Northern Philippines. (ANL/CCA-PIA 1 Ilocos Norte)