Iloilo to host biz forum

MANILA, Philippines - Iloilo, the regional center of Western Visayas, will hold a one-day business forum on March 12, 2014 at the Ballroom of the Intercontinental Hotel, Makati.  With the theme, “Iloilo Means Business”, the forum will showcase the massive infrastructure developments that the city and the province  have undertaken in the past seven years.

These include the international-standard airport which links Iloilo to seven domestic destinations and to Hong Kong  and Singapore; the expansion of the Iloilo River Port and construction of passenger terminals; the 15-km circumferential and radial roads that have decongested traffic in the city and allowed faster travel to and from the towns of the province;  and the rehabilitation of the Iloilo fish port complex.

The beautiful river walk, the River Esplanade, has given residents a place to relax and recreate whilst the widening of the Diversion Road, with generous provisions for the needs of pedestrians, the elderly, and bikers, will further make Iloilo a livable city.

The Iloilo Convention Center to be completed first quarter of 2015, will boost Iloilo’s attractiveness as a center for business tourism and for meetings, conferences and events.

Also under construction are the Richmonde and Marriott Courtyard hotels in the Megaworld mixed-use development located in what was once the 54-hectare old airport site in the city.  

Senate President Franklin Drilon, who has championed the growth and development of Iloilo over the years, will be the Forum’s first speaker followed by City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog and Gov. Arthur Defensor who will talk about the attractiveness of Iloilo as an investment destination. Major developers who have already invested in Iloilo  such as Megaworld; Ayala Land,  the  SM Group; Injap Investments, Inc.,  Global Business Power Corp, the PHINMA Group; and Palm Concepcion Power Corp., will share their reasons for investing in Iloilo and what their experience has been.

The forum, which has strong support from Iloilo’s private business sector led by the Iloilo Economic Development Foundation, Inc.,( ILED)  has been organized by the city and provincial governments and ILED with the support of the INVEST Project of  the United  States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Inquiries may be made with the forum secretariat at telephone numbers 926-0224 and 514-5714.