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NewsMarquez outlines five-year development plan for Aklan
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Author: Jun Ariolo Aguirre (375 Articles)
By JUN ARIOLO N. AGUIRRE
KALIBO, Aklan – The economic condition of Aklan is alive. Its premier tourist destination Boracay is giving the provincial government bright prospects to be able to develop a city-like tourism zone right in the resort.
Aklan Gov. Carlito Marquez, in his 40-page State-of-the- Province Address
The five-year plan includes the proposed P500-million project of the Marine Industry Authority (MARINA) which involves investment for a Cable Car System, land reclamation project, pier expansion and a wellness center.
The project will be built through a Build-Operate-and-Transfer (BOT) scheme. The Cable Car System will run from Caticlan to Boracay and vice versa.
“This undertaking will accommodate bigger volume of land and sea vessels and provide docks for visiting yachts. The project will earn additional revenue from the terminal fee which is expected to contribute P77 million per year for Aklan,†said Marquez.
He said that through the wellness center, the province will have a share of at least 700,000 foreign and medical clients in the country and is estimated to raise P1 billion for the government coffers. The five-year development plan is said to be the mechanism of the Aklan provincial government against the global economic crisis which is expected to hit this year.
The plan could also reportedly generate 12,000 jobs in 2009. On the part of the local government of Malay, where Boracay Island is politically and geographically located, it is also eyeing to put up a one-kilometer bridge between Barangay Caticlan in Malay to Boracay Island to spur economic growth.
“Right now, we are studying how much it will cost for the local government. The plan is in order to regulate the flow of traffic in the resort island; we will have tourist bus bound for Boracay and vice versa to Malay to avoid too many vehicles traveling around the resort island,†said Ed Sancho, executive secretary for Mayor Ciceron Cawaling.
The Malay municipal government is also urging the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and other agencies to utilize the 20-hectare government property in Malay as a housing site for the Boracay residents. (PNA)
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