The City Tourism Department is waiting for the Tourism Infrastructure and Economic Zone Authority (TIEZA) to get back to them about setting up a tourist business in Sitio Tagkawayan, Barangay Bacungan.
The head of the CTD, Demetrio Alvior, is looking forward to the TIEZA project coming to fruition because Tagkawayan is emerging as a significant tourist attraction in the city.
He said the objective is to construct a commercial facility for a beach resort that would be available for leasing to anyone.
“The project was supposed to start back in 2020. They were actually about to download the funds but was put on hold because of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Alvior said.
“Now they are once again communicating if we are still interested,” he added.
He went on to emphasize that the project’s success will be contingent not just on TIEZA but also on the accessibility of finances.
“Initial budget for the project is P400 million but the total cost is P700 million,” he said.
TIEZA was also responsible for the development of Tagkawayan’s City Beach, according to Alvior. While waiting for it, the beach was operated by a Community-Based Sustainable Tourism (CBST) initiative.
The city administration is now seeking TIEZA assistance for the development of the environmental estate in Sta. Lucia.
“If this materializes, we will have another TIEZA site, where we can easily attract investors because they will be offered incentives,” he said.
“City beach kasi yan kaya siniguro namin na malagyan ng lifeguard kaya kami mismo nagpa-train – yung caretaker na dalawa, plus ngayon inobliga namin yung CBST doon na temporarily, sila ang nagma-manage so habang ginagawa, pinagamit muna namin sa CBST para naman kumita at ne-require namin na magdagdag ng dalawang lifeguard,” he explained.
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