Malaysian group to reopen sprawling hotel in Samal Island

DAVAO CITY – The Malaysian conglomerate has indicated to the Mindanao delegation to the East Asean growth area meeting in Brunei Darussalam early August that it would open back its sprawling hotel in the Island Garden City of Samal, sending fresh hopes at propelling tourism in the Davao region.

In a report from the August 5-7 Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines-East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA), Secretary Jesus Dureza, Presidential Adviser on Mindanao Affairs, said that the Malaysian owners of Samal Casino Resort in Samal has signed an agreement with them to open again its hotel project.

“The Ekran Berhad Sdn, a Malaysian conglomerate that owns a chain of big hotels in Malaysia, will re-open its Ekran Berhad Samal Casino Resort in the Island Garden City of Samal (IGaCoS),” he said in a message relayed to the Mindanao Economic Development Council, a copy of which was obtained by BusinessMIrror.

Dureza said that the discussion and signing of the agreement was made at the side of the 18th Senior Officials and Ministers’ Meeting and 14th Ministerial Meeting in Brunei last week.

The signing of the agreement was held on August 7, “as a side event of the BEBC [BIMP-EAGA Business Council]-LGU [local government units]-NGO [nongovernment organizations] Roundtable Discussion on Community-based Ecotourism (CBET) Development.

The Philippine-Mindanao delegation was composed of Dureza, Samal Mayor Aniano Antalan, Davao del Norte Rep. Antonio Lagdameo, chairman of the House committee on BIMP-EAGA Affairs and officials of the Department of Tourism. The Malaysian delegation was represented by Tan Sri Datuk Ting Pek Khiing, executive chairman of Ekran Berhad Sdn.

Dureza said that Ekran Berhad “also planned to work on mounting flights between Davao and Kota Kinabalu, in partnership with Malaysian Airlines (MAS) to coincide with the re-opening of the resort”. The airlines has closed its Davao flight in the late 1990’s due to the heavy and lingering effect of the Asian financial crisis in 1997.

“We're putting back on track the P1.5 billion Ekran Berhad investment in Samal,” said Dureza, who is also the Philippine signing minister in the BIMP-EAGA. “This is an indication of a sound business environment in Mindanao and across borders, there is now an opportunity to reconnect in the south.”

Lagdameo told a press briefing in Malacanang that the hotel was an old project “but it had to close” He said that Davao business and government leaders have been bridging talks with the Malaysian investors to reopen the hotel several years ago “and we're hoping that we can get
them back before the end of the year”.

“Concrete timetable will have to be done hopefully before EAGA leaders summit in October,” he said.

The DOT coordinator for Mindanao, Undersecretary Merly Cruz, also a senior Philippine official in the BIMP-EAGA, said that the Malaysian conglomerate’s plan to resume operations in Samal was based on sound business decision. “Sa tingin nila maganda na ang business environment sa Mindanao”.

The Ekran Berhad has opened only 245 rooms in 1998, from a planned 1,400-room resort before it closed in 2001 due to the Asian financial crisis. The resort and hotel sprawls on an area of 250 hectares and includes a planned golf course.

Before it closed, Michael Ting Se Ping, then the general manager of the resort and at the same time vice-president of the family-owned Ekran Berhad Services, operator of several hotels and resorts in Malaysia, said the company was poised to construct the P200 million golf course and wanted to infuse P700 million for the other expansion activities that included the opening of another 300 rooms.

The company later called off plans for a public offering and closed operation.

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