Megaworld—the property arm of billionaire Andrew Tan’s Alliance Global—is doubling down on its tourism bet by developing a leisure complex in Batangas province, south of Manila.
Dubbed Nascala Coast, Megaworld said it will invest 5 billion pesos ($113 million) over the next five years to transform the 116-hectare beachfront property into an integrated residential, leisure, tourism and commercial township.
Nestled in the coastal town of Nasugbu, which is famous for its scenic beaches and mountains, is a popular tourism and leisure destination for those seeking outdoor adventures given its proximity to Manila, about 88 kilometers away.
“More than just a destination, Nascala Coast is envisioned as a thriving coastal address where tourists can enjoy the best of nature and generations of families can flourish,” Monica T. Salomon, president of Global Estate Resorts Inc, a unit of Megaworld, said in a statement.
Nascala Coast will be Megaworld’s 36th township and its fourth in Batangas. Among its leisure estates in the province are the 1,200-hectare Twin Lakes Vineyard township that overlooks the Taal Lake and Volcano, the 25-hectare San Benito Private Estate, a $208 million luxury wellness and spa themed themed township it’s building with Nepalese billionaire Binod Chaudhary in Lipa City, and the Lialto Beach and Golf Estates, a 150-hectare beachside and highland property in the town of Lian.
Two-thirds of Megaworld’s 36 townships are located in areas outside of Metro Manila that are tourist attractions such as Bacolod, Boracay, Cebu and Ilocos.
Out of its 59 billion peso investment budget this year, Alliance Global will use 55 billion pesos for projects that include hotels, townships, offices, malls, convention centers and residential towers.
To bolster its position as one of the country’s biggest hospitality groups, Megaworld earlier this week partnered with French hotel chain Accor to rebrand its Belmont Hotel Mactan in central Philippines into Mercure Mactan Cebu.
Megaworld has seven home-grown hotel brands with 13 properties and 7,000 rooms. It plans to open seven more hotels in three years and bring its hotel room portfolio to 9,000.
Apart from Megaworld, Tan’s interests include distiller Emperador, the world’s biggest brandy maker; the Philippine franchisee of McDonald’s and a casino resort. Tan has a net worth of about $2.4 billion, the fourth-richest Philippine tycoon, according to Forbes’ real-time data.
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