Filipino firm invests P10M in Subic beach resort

SUBIC BAY FREE PORT— All Hands Beach Resort, a popular attraction near Subic Bay’s international airport, has been awarded to a private company that pledged to “overhaul” the 5,600-square meter prime beachfront property and turn it into a world-class facility.

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) said it has signed a management contract with Filipino firm Brighterday Subic Ltd. Inc. (BSLI) to develop All Hands after the property reverted to the Subic agency recently.

All Hands, which was reserved for the use of noncommissioned officers in the US Navy when Subic was still an American naval base, is among the SBMA-owned tourism facilities previously operated by the SBMA subsidiary Freeport Service Corp. (FSC).

The contract for All Hands was recently preterminated by both parties as the FSC was placed by its mother unit in a “dormancy state.”

According to the new management agreement, the BSLI will invest P10 million in the development of All Hands within a period of five years.

The development project includes the construction of 30 Mediterranean-type beach cabañas, installation of drainage facilities and sewerage system, construction of retaining walls for sand protection, conversion of pavilions into function halls, and the rehabilitation of 10 overnight cottages.

The project will also involve an “overhaul” of the plumbing system, showers, restrooms and dressing rooms, life-guard towers, lighting facilities, as well as landscaping works.

The rehabilitation work, according to Raul Marcelo, SBMA’s deputy administrator for business, is expected to boost the potentials of All Hands as a revenue-generating asset.

Marcelo said that All Hands failed to meet the standards of the Department of Tourism (DOT) last year due to the financial woes of FSC, which had suffered “irreversible financial losses” in the past few years.

“But now that the resort has reverted to its owner, which is SBMA, it is incumbent upon the agency to ensure that the development and management of All Hands would meet DOT standards,” Marcelo added.

The SBMA said that under the new management contract, the SBMA will receive an estimated P12 million in annual revenues from entrance fees at All Hands beach.

BLSI will collect revenues from rentals for cottages, pavilions, huts and other beach facilities.

The SBMA took over the beach resort on Aug. 3 and had already deployed personnel to guard the gates and temporarily run the facility in preparation for the coming turnover to the new operator. Written by Henry Empeño / businessmirror.com.ph Correspondent