DAVAO CITY — Torre Lorenzo Development Corp. (TLDC) and Dusit International are embarking on their fourth project in the Davao Region, a Dusit Princess hotel in the city.
The Princess hotel, Dusit’s upper mid-scale brand, will be located in the same complex where the Dusit D2 Davao and the Dusit Thani Residences are located.
“We will break ground on that soon,” Christopher Wichlan, general manager of the Davao Dusit hotels, said in an interview at The Beach Club at Lubi Plantation, the third property under the TLDC-Dusit partnership.
TLDC President and Chief Executive Officer Tomas P. Lorenzo, in a press briefing Friday before the grand launch of Dusit D2, said the Davao City complex is planned to be a bigger mixed-use development which will be named Tierra Lorenzo Davao.
“This is only one-third of what we’re doing here. We’re putting office buildings, followed by a retail area and an esplanade,” Mr. Lorenzo said.
“This is an anchor, this hotel (Dusit D2) is the anchor to a bigger development in Davao,” he added.
Mr. Lorenzo declined to give the projected investment needed for the project, which would include the acquisition of surrounding properties, with some already settled and others under negotiation.
“In another year, it will be a different landscape,” Mr. Wichlan said.
In April, TLDC Chief Finance Officer Noel A. Rapadas said they have allocated P3 billion for capital expenditures this year to support projects that have been lined up.
Meanwhile, The Beach Club at Lubi Plantation, located on a private island in nearby Compostela Valley province, is currently on soft opening for day trips and with several of the initial 18 villas ready for occupancy.
The other facilities open are a pool, restaurant, function area, spa, and indoor game center, while a chapel for wedding ceremonies and dive shop are expected to be completed within the next six weeks.
“Soon as we have the other core elements, we’ll rebrand, probably before Christmas, to Dusit Thani at Lubi Plantation Resort. That’s the masterplan,” Mr. Wichlan said.
The next phase of the Lubi development would include the construction of 22 more villas, a Dusit Devarano Spa, a Benjarong and western cuisine restaurants, and another pool exclusive to staying guests, among others.
Dusit International Chief Operating Officer Lim Boon Kwee said their Davao operations, which was their first venture with TLDC, is the only one in their global network that combines urban and island resorts.
“This is very unique for us,” he told BusinessWorld on the catamaran ride from the Davao City complex to Lubi Plantation.
Mr. Lim said Dusit Thani Public Company Ltd., the Bangkok-based firm behind Dusit International, sees their partnership with TLDC as a “long-term relationship.”
TLDC and Dusit have also teamed up for the Tierra Lorenzo Lipa project in Batangas, which will have residential buildings and a Dusit Princess Hotel.
“As a company, it’s not just a transaction for us… we see it as a relationship and a journey,” he said. — Marifi S. Jara
