Andrew Tan-led FELI to revive P5-B resort project

MANILA, Philippines - Fil-Estate Land Inc., a company recently taken over by real estate tycoon Andrew Tan, is finally pushing through with the development of a world-class leisure and tourism community at Taal Ridge in Batangas at a cost of more than P5 billion.

The Twin Lakes project, which will rise on 1,149 hectares of land in Laurel town, will now be in joint venture with Tan’s property arm Megaworld Corp., and is envisioned to become the country’s most integrated tourism estate.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Fil-Estate said it has just commenced the masterplanning of Twin Lakes, which will offer resort estates overlooking panoramic views of its very own lake as well as the Taal Lake.

Fil-Estate vice president Sylvia Hondrade said the project’s initial phases include the development of residential villas and condominiums, a luxury hotel, shopping village, botanical garden, sports and country club and plantation estates.

Succeeding phases will offer a golf course, international hotels, boarding schools and a retirement village complete with wellness and medical amenities.

“We want to take advantage of the cool weather in Tagaytay. Our ultimate goal is to transform these resort estates into prime destinations for medical and educational tourism over time,” Hondrade said.

Tan, through listed investment holding firm Alliance Global Group Inc. (AGI), recently completed the acquisition of nearly 60 percent of Fil-Estate Land Inc. in a deal valued at P5 billion.

The group led by Robert John Sobrepena retained a fifth of Fil-Estate.

AGI’s purchase of a majority stake in Fil-Estate is expected to boost the latter’s bid to regain its strong presence in the real estate industry and allow it to pursue projects that had been derailed by its financial problem.

Aside from Twin Lakes, AGI has also started with the masterplanning of the Newcoast Station, a new tourism-oriented community project in Boracay.

Fil-Estate owns and controls more than 10 percent of the total land area in Boracay.

AGI said its Newcoast Station project will serve as a catalyst for the growth of the Boracay tourism industry.

AGI, one of the country’s largest conglomerates, is an active player in a wide range of industries — from real estate development to food and beverage, quick service restaurants and hotels and resorts development. Its major units include Megaworld Corp., Emperador Distillers Inc. and the McDonalds franchise.

Megaworld focuses on the middle to high-end residential and office markets. A subsidiary, Empire East Land & Holdings Inc., caters to the lower to middle-income market segment.

The company’s flagship development is Eastwood City, a 16-hectare cyberpark and mixed-use project. It is host to nearly one in every four BPO firms in the country, among which are the call center operations of IBM and Citibank.