MMDA to launch second ‘gwapotel’

MANILA, Philippines - The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is set to launch the second “Gwapotel”, which costs P10.7 million and features more amenities than its predecessor. MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando said that the agency spent P10. 7 million for the renovation of the building, formerly Emmanuel Hospital, located at Jose Abad Santos Avenue in Tondo, Manila. He said that the first “capsule hotel” in the country, to be launched in time with the celebration of Independence Day on Thursday, features amenities one normally found in an economy class airline. Fernando said the new “guwapotel” will have air-conditioned bedroom with three-deck capsular beds equipped with good lumbar support. The capsular beds also come equipped with a tubular control panel for individual spotlight, air condition thermostat adjustment and piped-in music. Fernando said that the launching of the new “Gwapotel” would help ease congestion in Metro Manila by giving out-of-town workers an inexpensive place to stay “This facility is designed not only for laborers and vendors but also for blue and white collar workers. This is an enviable space for Gwapotel guests who can afford the luxury of an eight hour sleep plus shower bath for the measly amount of P25,” Fernando said. The facility has separate accommodations for men and women, the MMDA chairman added. Newspapers and magazines will also be provided to the guests while television sets will be provided for every floor. Workers can also avail of cheap breakfast and brunch at the canteen located at the ground floor of the three-storey, 2.800-square meter building. It can accommodate as much as 800 transients a day. The hospital’s owner through the Privatization Management Office of the Finance Department has agreed to rent out the old building to the MMDA for P200,000 monthly. It was originally scheduled to be launch during the Labor Day celebration last May 1 but it was deferred after the MMDA found defects in the design of the capsular bed. The first “Gwapotel” inn, a joint venture between the MMDA and the National Power Corporation (NPC) and located along Bonifacio Drive, Port Area Manila, is generating about P400, 00o to P500, 000 a month, the agency said. - GMANews.TV