Seaoil, DoubleDragon unit put up station

Seaoil Philippines Inc. is putting up a P350-million mega station along the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) in partnership with CityMall Commercial Centers Inc. (CMCCI), the mall development arm of DoubleDragon Properties Corp.

The facility will be built in a two-hectare property and will be the first mega station to rise along SCTEX, said petroleum product distributor Seaoil.

Operational by the end of 2015, the facility will house some of the most popular fast food establishments in the country.

“This is one of our biggest projects this year and it is very significant because the agreement features the convergence of 100 percent Filipino-owned companies. We are honored to partner with DoubleDragon, one of the fastest growing commercial and residential property developers in the Philippines,” Seaoil CEO Glenn Yu said in a statement.

State-run Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) cheered the investment in the retail gas station, saying that it will provide an added convenience to motorists plying (SCTEx).

“This brings the service of the SCTEX to a higher level because the comfort and convenience of the motorists will be assured.  Once completed before the end of the year, motorists can gas-up, rest and avail of other services they need to travel,” BCDA president and CEO Arnel Paciano D. Casanova said yesterday in a statement.

The mega station is located midway from Baguio to Manila, which makes it a perfect stopover for motorists coming from the north.

The full-service filling station will have an array of restaurants, convenience stores and “pasalubong” kiosks.

Among the restaurants that may locate within the service area include Jollibee, Chowking, Greenwich, Mang Inasal, Highlands Coffee, Red Ribbon, Watson’s Pharmacy and Indonesian-based Alpha Mart convenience store.

“We are excited and happy to host one of Seaoil’s major investments and a SCTEX icon at that,” Casanova added.

The station will also have spacious rest rooms, parking spaces and relaxation areas for travel-weary customers, the company said.

For over 18 years, Seaoil said, it has consistently been able to introduce more advanced and environment-friendly fuel specifications ahead of its competition.

From one station when it started retailing in 1997, Seaoil now has over 400 stations in different parts of the archipelago.

Seaoil also owns and operates 11 depots all over the country.

DoubleDragon, meanwhile, is a joint venture between Injap Investments Inc. headed by its chair Edgar Sia II, founder of Mang Inasal Philippines Inc., and Honeystar Holdings Corp. headed by chair Tony Tan Caktiong, who is also the founder and chair of Jollibee Foods Corp.