Olivarez hails Bayshore City groundbreaking at Entertainment City

Parañaque City Mayor Edwin L. Olivarez on Wednesday (October 1, 2014) hailed the official start of construction at Bayshore City Resorts World, the fourth and final licensee at the Pagcor Entertainment City, calling the occasion “a most exciting moment for the Philippine gaming industry.”

“This afternoon marks yet another milestone not only for the City of Parañaque but for the entire Philippines as we witness the ground breaking for Bayshore City Resorts World, one of the four integrated resort and gaming complexes that collectively make up the Pagcor Entertainment City,” the mayor said.

Olivarez said the occasion means that all four Entertainment City licensees are now officially in, although in different stages of development. The leisure and entertainment enclave is situated along Manila Bay within the jurisdiction of Parañaque’s Barangay Don Galo.

The mayor noted that the first locator, Solaire Resort and Casino, has been operating for quite some time while the second, the City of Dreams Manila, will open its doors to the public before the year is over.

The third locator, the Manila Bay Resorts of Japanese businessman Kazuo Okada, is also in the thick of construction activities and is looking to open before the end of 2016.

“Definitely, today’s official start of construction for Bayshore City makes things more exciting here at Entertainment City,” Olivarez said.

The mayor, in his brief remarks during the ceremonies, noted that aside from the hectic pace of development at Entertainment City, other major infrastructure projects that will complement the tourism destination are also underway, including the NAIA Skyway Phase 2 and the extension of the LRT Line 1 to Cavite.

The NAIA Skyway project will connect the Skyway along the South Luzon Expressway to the three terminals of NAIA and up to Entertainment City, “which means that travel going to and from here will soon be only a matter of minutes from all the major points in Metro Manila and nearby provinces,” the mayor said.

“As we speak, we already have the completed ramps for this project along Macapagal Boulevard, and another going to the heart of Entertainment City itself, while work along the whole alignment remains on schedule, and it should be open to the public by next year, in time for the country’s hosting of the APEC Summit.”

He said the government has also awarded the LRT Line 1 Extension project from Baclaran in Parañaque to Bacoor in Cavite, which will have at least four additional stations along Roxas Boulevard and the Manila-Cavite Expressway within the jurisdiction of Parañaque.

“For the City of Parañaque, this means not only more jobs for our residents and more revenues for the local government. More importantly, this means we are getting closer to becoming one of the biggest tourist and entertainment destinations not only in the Philippines but in the entire Asia-Pacific region,” Olivarez said.

Others who attended the event were Chairman Cristino Naguiat of Pagcor and executives from Travellers International Hotel Group led by Alliance Global Group Chairman and CEO Andrew Tan and Genting Berhad Chairman and CEO Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay.

Travellers International, developer of Bayshore City Resorts World, is a joint venture between Alliance Global and Genting Berhad.