MEGAWORLD Corp. is developing a P5-billion “sustainable” boutique hotel and shophouse district in its 462-hectare eco-tourism township in Palawan, Paragua Coastown.

In a disclosure to the exchange on Wednesday, the listed property developer said it will be offering 240 lots in its Mercato Shophouse District and Porto Hotel District.

“Our eco-tourism township offers businesses and entrepreneurs such as hotel owners, restaurateurs, coffee shop and bar operators, and retail shop owners to own land in San Vicente, particularly inside our master-planned beachside development,” Megaworld Head of Sales and Marketing JR Abustan said. 

The Mercato Shophouse District and the Porto Hotel District will be offering lots with sizes ranging from 250 square meters (sq.m.) to 599 sq.m. for shophouses, while lots for boutique hotels will range from 450 sq.m. to 1,199 sq.m. The districts will be designed to be interconnected.

Megaworld said it is expecting to generate sales of up to P5 billion from the districts.

It will have “expansive sidewalks,” bridges, and it will also be surrounded by landscaped parks and gardens. An esplanade along the creek will also be featured and guests may access a Mangrove Reserve Park through a bridge.

“This district that we are developing in Kemdeng will have close access to the coastline of Long Beach Area of San Vicente, which has been designated as a Tourism Enterprise Zone of the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA),” Mr. Abustan said.

Megaworld noted that TIEZA’s Tourism Enterprise Zones are granted incentives, such as tax holidays.

The district will have access to the San Vicente Town Proper and the San Vicente Airport through the municipal and coastal roads traversing through the township.

Meanwhile, Megaworld said the first area of Paragua Coastown in Kemdeng will feature mixed-use developments, medical and wellness facilities, a church, and other leisure and institutional amenities.

It is also planning to develop several town barangays that “will mostly have access to Long Beach,” which is said to have the country’s longest beach line and the second largest in Southeast Asia.

“We will definitely have unique residential and recreational offerings inside Paragua Coastown,” Mr. Abustan said.

Megaworld has earmarked P40 billion to develop the township within the next 10 to 15 years.

“What we are building here will hopefully help San Vicente become the most popular eco-tourism spot in Palawan and the entire country. But of course, we give utmost importance to sustainable real estate because this is what everyone will be looking for when they decide to invest in Palawan,” Mr. Abustan said.

Megaworld shares at the stock market declined 3.5% or 11 centavos to close at P3.03 each on Wednesday. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte