Firm eyes resort in Mactan

By Katlene O. Cacho

Sunday, January 29, 2012

FEDERAL Land Inc., the property development arm of the Metrobank Group, is interested to develop a resort facility in Mactan through a joint venture to complement its business hotel, Marco Polo Plaza Cebu.

Officials said the company is currently in talks with two Cebuano families for prospective locations in Mactan.

Learn whats new in Cebu now, click here

“We are still on the exploratory stage. Apart from seeing growth in our apartment building and hotel, we are open to opportunities of building a resort facility here,” Metrobank chairman and group vice chairman Antonio Abacan Jr. said in an interview on Saturday.

Abacan said the development of the resort hotel will complement Marco Polo Plaza Cebu, whose core market is the corporate segment. He said they want to tap Cebu’s growing leisure market.

2 properties

“There are two properties being offered. One is a 12-hectare property,” he said.

Abacan, however, declined to disclose more details of the negotiations.

Federal Land, which operates Marco Polo Hotel in Cebu, diversified its portfolio to include development of condominiums.

According to its website, the firm launched the P5-billion high rise project ‘’The Residences’’ in Nivel Hills. The Residences is the first of the five-tower residential project beside Marco Polo Plaza Cebu.

Metrobank vice chairman Francis Sebastian said the first tower of The Residences, which has 250 units, is already sold out.

With the quick sales take-up, Sebastian said they are already working on the second tower, which also has 250 units. He said the company will continue the development of the 10-hectare property but will be cautious in the market.

“We are still on the planning stage but we are slowly putting in place our projects here,” he said.

He said the company will focus on strengthening the position of the Marco Polo Hotel in the hospitality industry.

Sebastian is also the chairman of the First Metro Investments Corp. For More information about our The Residence at Marco Polo, contact us at 09173236123; 09228236123.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on January 30, 2012.