GSIS, SMPI to undertake P1.7-B hotel project in Makati

MANILA, Philippines - State-pension fund Government Service Insurance System has entered into a joint venture agreement with San Miguel Properties Inc. (SMPI) for the development of a P1.7-billion, high-end hotel project in Makati City. The hotel development project will be put up on a 1,766-square meter GSIS property adjacent to Greenbelt 1 in Legazpi Village, Makati City. In a statement, the GSIS said the project will be a “service apartment-type hotel" with world class facilities comparable to that of the Four Seasons Luxury Hotel in Hong Kong. The initial plan is for the hotel to have 500 rooms with an average size of 50 square meters per room. The hotel is expected to be operational by January 2011. The construction period is expected to commence soon. Under the JV agreement, the GSIS and SMPI will have a 50-50 percent sharing with regard to equity and income distribution to be generated by the hotel. The GSIS’s contribution to the JV will initially be the Makati property which it owns while SMPI will provide the initial funding for the construction and development of the hotel. “We expect the dividend payments from this hotel to further bolster our actuarial life," Winston Garcia, GSIS president and general manager, said. “It will have world-class facilities and will cater primarily to high-end tourists and businessmen," he added. SMPI is a subsidiary of food and beverage giant San Miguel Corp. Earlier, the GSIS entered into a lease agreement with mall developer SM Prime Holdings Inc. involving a three-hectare GSIS property along Elliptical Road in Quezon City. The lease agreement is up to 25 years and renewable upon mutual consent by both parties. The GSIS stands to earn around P1.3 billion from the said lease agreement. SM Prime will develop the property, where the GSIS Quezon City Satellite Office is currently located, into a commercial complex. For the duration of the construction period, the GSIS QC Satellite Office will still be open for business in the area. The satellite office will then be housed in the new SM commercial complex after completion of the development. - GMANews.TV