Nayong Pilipino bidding to start in Dec.

MANILA—The Department of Tourism (DOT) and the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center will start the bidding for The New Nayong Pilipino project in December this year.

During the Investors’ Conference for the project on Thursday, PPP Center project development service director, Mia Mary Sebastian, said the implementing agencies will start to accept bid submissions for The New Nayong Pilipino at the Entertainment City in Parañaque City.

Sebastian however noted that interested investors should submit pre-qualification documents starting July.

“In the pre-qualification stage, we will evaluate the legal qualification, the experience of the firm, as well as the key personnel of the bidders, and the financial capability of the prospective bidders,” she said.

“Once these prospective bidders have been pre-qualified pursuant to the evaluation process, we will move on to the bidding stage wherein we will require technical and financial proposals coming from the pre-qualified bidders.”

The construction of the PHP1.47 billion “Philippine village” tourism facility on a 9.5-hectare property within the Entertainment City is expected to be completed by October 2021.

The New Nayong Pilipino project is the first PPP project of the tourism department.

The project has a Build-Transfer-Operate and Maintain structure with a 20-year concession period, exclusive of the three-year period for construction.

Under this project, the government will provide the land for The New Nayong Pilipino and its conceptual master plan. It will also have the general oversight and supervision of the operation, as well as the contract management.

The public sector will also be engaged in providing special cultural and educational workshops.

The private sector, on the other hand, will be involved in financing, detailed design, and construction of the main park and recreation facilities, as well as the operation and maintenance of the facility.

The investor will be responsible for the annual and quarterly program content of The New Nayong Pilipino and will also set the ticket pricing and distribution channels for the facility.

The first Nayong Pilipino, which promoted the country’s culture and heritage, was located along the MIA Road in Pasay City.

The current Nayong Pilipino is located in Clark in Central Luzon.

According to Nayong Pilipino Foundation (NPF) executive director Joseph Anthony Quesada, the original Nayong Pilipino had about 1.2 million to 1.3 million annual visitors during its peak in the mid-1990s.

When it was transferred to Clark, the number of visitors declined to 130,000 to 150,000 a year.

As The New Nayong Pilipino will be brought back to Metro Manila, the number of tourists is expected to balloon to 1.5 million annually.

Quesada said the government envisions The New Nayong Pilipino as an interactive theme park that will showcase Filipino culture, heritage, and talents.

Tourism Undersecretary Rolando Cañizal said the department is eyeing more PPP tourism facilities in the country.