HUNGARY has offered the Philippines a credit facility for private businesses as well as a grant to finance a feasibility study to clean up Laguna de Bay and Manila Bay, the Department of Agriculture said.
May 252017
Mar 042014
Residents hang on to a rope as they pass strong currents along a flooded area in Marikina, east of Manila, Philippines on Thursday Aug. 9, 2012. A fresh deluge forced more evacuations along fast-rising rivers in the Philippine capital Thursday, as the city and surrounding areas struggled to deal with widespread flooding triggered by nearly two weeks of relentless rains. (MNS photo) MANILA, Mar 3 (Mabuhay) – The government should stop the reclamation project of Manila Gold Coast Corporation which covers 144 hectares of coastline, fishermen from Southern Tagalog said at their fluvial protest action in Manila Bay. The protesters rode in seven fishing boats from Bacoor Bay to the Senate, which sits on another reclaimed portion of Manila Bay, to express their strong opposition to this new reclamation project, which will displace 100,000 coastline residents. Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-Southern Tagalog (Bayan-ST) together with fisher folk organization Pamalakaya, said the further reclamation of Manila Bay will not only be detrimental to fishermen, but also to residents of Manila who will suffer more severe floods. “In all aspects, this reclamation project will not serve the best interest of our people. It is equally detrimental to the environment and especially those people who live along the coast,” said Bayan-ST spokesperson Andrianne Mark Ng. “Around 100,000 residents are expected to be displaced when the reclamation pushes through,” Ng said. Citing a paper by Dr. Kelvin S. Rodolfo, a geologist and Professor Emeritus at the University of Chicago in Illinois, Ng also pointed out that Read More …
Jun 092013
Mateo Ragonjan took a leap of faith in August last year. The executive sous-chef of a seven-star luxury hotel in Abu Dhabi packed his bags to take up a similar job back home in the Philippines. He is one of a small group of like-minded Filipinos returning to jobs back home, a sign of confidence in an economy that for decades has seen millions leave in search of better prospects overseas. Ragonjan now helps run a 300-man kitchen that caters to guests and high-rollers flocking to Manila’s newest and most luxurious casino resort, one of 400 overseas Filipinos who came home to work at the hotel. “The Philippines is booming at the moment, so I thought it was the right time to go back,” Ragonjan, 41, said on a break from his 10-hour shift at the Solaire Resort & Casino in Manila Bay, developed at a cost of $1.2 billion. The Philippines economy is leaving behind its reputation as a regional laggard. It reported annual GDP growth of 7.8 percent in the first three months of the year, outstripping China to make it Asia’s fastest-growing economy. Earlier this year, the government secured an investment grade credit rating, reducing its borrowing costs, while the stock market has reached a series of record highs this year. Returnees like Ragonjan are just a trickle compared to those still leaving the country, but the hope is that the more the country can draw the diaspora back to the Philippines the more that the entrepreneurial Read More …
May 092013
MANILA, Philippines – East Zone water concessionaire Manila Water Co. Inc. expects to finish the construction of its P6.1-billion sewage treatment plant in Taguig City in September. The wastewater treatment plant located at Liwasan ng Kagitingan at Kalikasan will service 350,000 residents of Barangay Western Bicutan. Manila Water Project Delivery Group OIC director Estelita Orodio said the Taguig North Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) is a crucial component of the company’s Wastewater Master Plan which aims to reduce the pollution load in Metro Manila’s river systems especially the Pasig River which flows into the Manila Bay. “Environmental protection is a major advocacy of Manila Water. We have pioneered a number of initiatives to promote this cause and the construction of more STPs like this is part of our major contribution in the drive to clean-up Manila Bay,” Orodio said. The Taguig wastewater treatment plant is an underground facility that a can process 75 million liters per day. The land above the plant would developed into a public recreational park. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Upon completion of the plant, Manila Water would have 37 sewage treatment plants and two septage treatment facilities in its network. These facilities would process a total of 500 million liters per day. Manila Water services 6.2 million residents of portions of Quezon City and Manila, Marikina, Pasig, San Juan, Mandaluyong, Pateros, Makati, Taguig and several towns in Rizal Province. The company recently reported a flat growth in net income for the first Read More …
Apr 302013
ONGOING development at the state-run Bagong Nayong Pilipino Entertainment City gaming hub in Parañaque City has whetted interest in residential condominium units in the nearby cities of Pasay and Manila, particularly in areas near Manila Bay, according to property consultant Colliers International Philippines.
Mar 122013
MANILA, Philippines – Casino complex developer Bloomberry Resorts Corp. has secured an agreement to borrow as much as P14.3 billion for the expansion of its soon-to-open Solaire Manila Resort and Casino. In a disclosure to the stock exchange Bloomberry said its subsidiaries Sureste Properties Inc. and Bloomberry Resorts and Hotels Inc. have entered into a loan deal with several banks. “Lenders BDO Unibank Inc., China Banking Corp. and Philippine National Bank have agreed to make available to SPI an additional loan facility of up to P14.3 billion to help finance the construction of the Phase 1a expansion of the hotel and entertainment building complex of Solaire Manila,” Bloomberry said. The deal was arranged by BDO Capital and Investment Corp. Bloomberry, controlled by port magnate Enrique Razon Jr., earlier announced its plan to spend $200-250 million for the expansion that will allow the company to open an-all-suite hotel, 3,900 parking slots, a shopping center with luxury brand stores and an entertainment theater by next year. The $750-million Phase 1 of Solaire Manila will start welcoming guests in its 500-room casino hotel near Manila Bay on March 16. It will also offer a world-class casino encompassing 18,500 square meters of space and 15 luxurious dining options. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The casino hotel is situated in the Entertainment City, a 120-hectare property reclaimed from Manila Bay and owned by the state-run Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor). Bloomberry is one of the four license holders in Entertainment Read More …
Jan 312013
MANILA, Philippines – Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada, whose company will build a casino complex along Manila Bay, has sought for an investigation of Wynn Resorts Ltd.’s chairman. Bloomberg reported that Okada wanted directors to probe the actions of company chairman Steve Wynn in securing a casino concession in Macau. In a Jan. 24 letter to the board of directors of Wynn Resorts, Okada said the Cotai project raises “serious questions about the propriety of the actions taken by Mr. Wynn, the company, and its affiliates in pursuing” it. Las Vegas-based Wynn Resorts wants to remove Okada from its board. Okada and former business partner Wynn are in a bitter corporate feud, which started when the Japanese pachinko businessman questioned the $135-million donation pledged by Wynn Macau Ltd., a Macau subsidiary of Wynn Resorts in Macau. Both businessmen continue to trade barbs, accusing the other of questionable payments to public officials in Asia including the Philippines. Okada’s Tiger Resorts & Leisure Corp. entered into a partnership with Gokongwei-led Robinsons Land Corp. to jointly develop a $2-billion hotel and casino complex in the 100-hectare Entertainment City along Roxas Blvd. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Tiger Resorts is one of four groups that were granted a license by the Philippine Amusement & Gaming Corp. to operate a casino on a reclaimed land along Manila Bay, which the government expects to turn into the world’s number two gaming destination ahead of Singapore and Las Vegas and behind only Macau. In Read More …