BACOLOD City – Property giant Megaworld is building an iconic attraction to welcome tourists and locals alike in the country’s famed “City of Smiles.”
Megaworld, in partnership with the City Government of Bacolod, broke ground for the Bacolod Welcome Park on Monday – a tourism spot integrated within the 7.5-hectare Harold Brian Geronimo, Megaworld Senior Assistant Vice President for Public Relations and Media Affairs, said it will be highlighted by a 7.2-meter “Welcome Marker,” that will greet both incoming and outgoing visitors of the city. Its design will feature colorful masks which will be illuminated at night, symbolic of Bacolod’s very own world-renowned Masskara Festival.
Beside the marker will be a visual representation of the Bacolod Government Center, the seat of the local city government.
“This is not just a milestone for the people of Bacolod but also for Megaworld. This will be the first time for the company to construct a city’s official welcome marker similar to that of Las Vegas, and we are excited to have it in Northill Gateway,” said Jericho P. Go, senior vice president, Megaworld.
Megaworld will construct the marker at no cost to the government. Since it will be seamlessly integrated into the Northill Town Center, visitors to the Welcome Park will have access to souvenir shops, retail stores, cafes, and restaurants within the commercial complex.
The company is expected to begin construction of the Northill Town Center by the end of the year. Part of the plan is to also build a church, supermarket, cinemas, as well as open parks and water features around the town center.
The Northill Town Center will also be closely accessible to Forbes Hill, Megaworld’s first upscale residential village in the whole of Visayas and Mindanao.
Bacolod City mayor Evelio Leonardia thanked tycoon Andrew Tan and Megaworld Corporation for accepting his personal proposal to establish a Bacolod Welcome Park along the airport access road.
Leonardia, inspired by the iconic “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign in Nevada, United States, pitched the idea of the welcome park to property giant Megaworld, which has 53-hectare township development in the area.
The occasion took place on the day Bacolod commemorated the 80th year of the signing of its Charter, by then President Manuel L. Quezon on June 18, 1938.
“For us, this is a symbolism that Bacolod on its 80th birthday is opening its doors and welcoming the world to its city,” the mayor said, adding that the welcome marker is expected to be completed within the year.
Leonardia sees the Bacolod Welcome Park boosting the tourism potentials of Bacolod City.
“We will be the only city in the country with a Welcome Park. That is definitely going to put us on the tourism map and should increase our tourist traffic. Megaworld has proven to be a good partner for progress and development,” the mayor said./PN
