P1.3-B ‘Fiesta Poro’ underway

SAN FERNANDO CITY — With an initial investment of P1.31 billion, a US company has started developing the Poro Point special economic and freeport zone.

Dubbed as "Fiesta Poro," the project would be a big boost to the tourism industry of La Union and the Ilocos region as a whole, said Glynis Salvatera Balagot, Fiesta Poro marketing director.

"We are pleased and excited to introduce and present Fiesta Poro to our friends in La Union and our neighbors throughout the Philippines. We are certain that Fiesta Poro will be a smashing success and will grow to become an important building block for the expansion of tourism throughout Region 1," said Balagot, a former Miss City of San Fernando.

She said "Fiesta Poro" is Thunderbird’s second resort development in the country following the successful launching of "Fiesta Rizal," its flagship property in Binangonan, Rizal.

Comprising Fiesta Rizal are 43 five-star quality hotel suites, three themed restaurants, a state-of-the-art casino, and other facilities, creating more than 1,000 jobs.

The 65.5-hectare Fiesta Poro tourism complex will be developed in three phases within the next seven years.

It will include the conversion of the Voice of America facilities into a dining, entertainment and casino complex; the renovation of the San Fernando City Airport into a first-class international airport with hangar facilities; the design and construction of championship and public golf courses; and the renovation of the historical Poro lighthouse.

The project also involves the construction of new recreational facilities, retail outlets and restaurants, passenger cruise facilities, an aquatic theme park and surf pool, gun and skeet shooting range, beachfront villas, a resort hotel and condominiums, meeting and convention facilities, and a tourist, vacation and retirement village.

Once completed, Balagot said Fiesta Poro is expected to create 5,000 to 10,000 jobs for residents of La Union and the entire Region 1.

"We are planning to complete the first phase of Fiesta Poro and stage our grand opening during the first quarter of this year," Balagot said.