Officials of AppleOne Properties Inc. (API) and Brigadier General Charito Plaza, director general of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), led the groundbreaking ceremony of “Mahi by AppleOne Properties Inc.” API president and chief executive officer Ray Go Manigsaca (second from right) said Mahi will be a landmark development in the area. Manigsaca is joined by wife Venus Manigsaca (first from right) and Beng Kuan and Steve Baek of Marriott International (second and third from left).| Tonee Despojo
LAPU-LAPU CITY, Philippines — Cebu-based development company, AppleOne Properties Inc. (API), has embarked on another groundbreaking project with the launching of an information technology (IT) center located within the Mactan Export Processing Zone (MEPZ) 1 in Lapu-Lapu City.
Called “Mahi” by AppleOne Properties, Inc.,” the development will rise on a 7,500 square meter property along M.L. Quezon Avenue with the following dedicated space allocations: 30 percent IT industry, 41 percent hotel and retail spaces, and 29 percent common utility and facility.
Ray Go Manigsaca, API president and chief executive officer, said this is part of the company’s expansion in the mixed-use market emphasizing on Cebu’s mounting potential in the IT sector.
Still reeling from the excitement of bringing the Sheraton brand to Cebu, Manigsaca also announced the entry of Fairfield Inn and Suites here. It will be Mahi’s hotel component.
A perspective of Mahi prepared by AppleOne Properties Inc. /Contributed Photo
The Fairfield brand is part of Marriott International and is listed as Marriott’s second largest brand and a preferred business hotel worldwide.
“This is the first of a kind development. Mahi is going to be a gamechanger with an iconic brand that will contribute to Mactan’s economic progress,” said Manigsaca.
“In two to three years from now, this area will be a site to behold and (will be a) true landmark,” added Manigsaca.
Mahi is located two kilometers away from the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) and five kilometers away from Cebu’s famous resorts and beaches.
With Cebu’s continuous tourism growth, Manigsaca said API will continue to support the industry by bringing in more accommodation options to Cebu.
“Cebu needs more hotel rooms. We will bring in more international hotel brands (in Cebu),” he said.
In a press statement, API noted that the Mahi project is “set to be a premier lifestyle destination in Mactan” and “a significant contributor to the growing progress and dynamism of the area.”
Mahi’s facilities include a five-storey structure with IT capabilities, two floors of office spaces, three floors of commercial and retail spaces, and a rooftop bar and restaurant.
API’s subsidiary, AppleOne Mactan, Inc., is the developer of the forthcoming five-star Sheraton Cebu Mactan Resort and The Residences at Sheraton Cebu Mactan Resort, the first Sheraton-branded residence in Southeast Asia. /dcb