In Bataan, freeport hotel set to open in December

Property developer LKY Group plans to open by yearend a portion of the redeveloped former Hilltop Hotel at the Freeport Area of Bataan (FAB) in Mariveles town.

The group said the project was part of its multimillion-peso tourism investment in the former Bataan Export Zone.

A statement issued by the Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan (Afab) over the weekend quoted Wilbert Lee, president and chief executive of LKY and The Oriental Hotels and Resorts, as saying that the soon-to-rise, four-star The Oriental-Bataan hotel would begin operations of its renovated clubhouse and a number of guest rooms on the ground level in December.

“December is the time when we have our Christmas parties. We do not have to go out of our way to have events. We will have this very nice establishment here, very near where we work and live,” Afab chair Deogracias G.P. Custodio said during last week’s groundbreaking ceremony for The Oriental-Bataan.

Custodio said the hotel would help Afab attract more investors and tourists, as well as generate more jobs for residents in Bataan.

The Oriental-Bataan is poised to become the biggest tourist facility at the freeport, and forms part of the P300-million FAB leisure hub—a “lifestyle community” to be developed by LKY over a 129,170-square meter property.

The project involves the rehabilitation of FAB’s tourism facilities which, apart from the existing four-story Hilltop Hotel also include an auditorium, a clubhouse, a shopping center and sports facilities.

Under the agreement inked by Afab and LKY in September last year, the FAB Leisure Hub development is expected to be completed in the next two years.

“The leisure hub project will further improve facilities in the FAB that can spur investments and create new jobs, and provide work-life balance to our locators and the FAB community,” Custodio said.

LKY, which traces its roots from Sorsogon province, is engaged in commercial leasing, hotel and resort development, housing, retail, and terminal operations, mostly in the Bicol region, Laguna province, Metro Manila, northern Luzon and the Visayas.

In the first quarter, Afab attracted P849.1-million worth of investment commitments—up 1,302 percent from P60.5 million in the first three months of 2013.