DAVAO CITY (August 11) — The Hong Kong-based company which entered contract with Nayong Pilipino Foundation insisted that the contract it signed with the sacked board of trustees and management team remained valid and still bound the Philippine government.
The company, Landing International Development Ltd., in a press statement said its lease contract with NPF “is still valid and effective” despite President Rodrigo Duterte’s firing of the entire board and management team of NPF.
The LIDL is set to develop a multi-million project dubbed as NayonLanding, they had a groundbreaking last Tuesday while the Palace announced that President Rodrigo Duterte sacked all NPF board members and officials.
WHAT IS THE PROJECT ALL ABOUT?
Based on the proposed agreement with fired NPF board, the NayonLanding is set to open in 2022, which will be developed by Landing Resorts Philippines Development Corporation, a subsidiary of Landing International Development Limited, together with its subsidiaries.
NayonLanding is expected to bring the newest integrated resort to the Entertainment City at Parañaque City.
In a media briefing, Landing International Chief Operating Officer and Landing Jeju Development Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Jay Lee said the company’s integrated resort in Jeju Island has “changed the landscape of tourism in Korea,” and it intends to do the same in the Philippines. “With the integrated resort, our primary objective is to drive tourism,” said Lee.
Lee said the integrated resort will be composed of one of the world’s largest indoor theme park and waterpark; luxury hotels and resort with more than 1,500 rooms; casino; meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions or MICE facilities; and retail, as well as food and beverage outlets.
The company described “NayonLanding is meant to symbolize the rich culture and heritage of the Philippines.”
The proposed project will cover approximately 95,700 sq.m. of land with a planned construction floor area of approximately 610,000 sq.m.
Flawed contract
Duterte, according to Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, described the lease agreement signed by and between LILD and of NPF is “grossly disadvantageous” to the government as it will lease it initially for 70 years.
Roque said the government procedure was bypassed because the contract was signed without the benefit of public bidding.
The statement from LIDL stressed “From the Group’s view point, the recent decision of the Philippine government to replace members of the NPF board of trustees did not affect the validity of the subject contract of lease.”
The group claimed “Unless the lease contract is cancelled or nullified on legal grounds by the courts, Landing has reason to believe that it is a valid leaseholder and can legally proceed with its project.”
Landing International said the lease contract with NPF is for a period of 25 years only starting from the date of execution of the contract.
Landing International is the developer of Jeju Shinhwa World, the only integrated resort on Jeju Island and one of the largest integrated resorts in South Korea, which opened in March 2018.
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Employment opportunities
Lee claimed that NayonLanding targets to attract additional two million to three million foreign visitors to the Philippines when it completes the project by first quarter of 2022. It will also generate at least 10,000 direct and indirect employment, Lee added.
Despite the fact that the Duterte administration imposes moratorium on casino operations, Landing International pushes through with the project after obtaining a provisional license for its gaming operation from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR).
Lee pointed out that the integrated resort’s core business is not its casino operation but the non-gaming business — theme park, waterpark, and MICE facilities. He said the firm projects only that one-third of its revenue will be generated from the gaming business.- EZC with report from PNA
