SANTA ANA, Cagayan: A $4.5-billion world-class city, to be named “City Polaris,” will soon rise at a scenic seaside in this northeastern town, where the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) is located.

Secretary Raul Lambino, CEZA chief executive officer, said the project to be developed on a 100-hectare area is a modern satellite city with six-star hotels, casinos, golf courses, a cyberpark for digital currency and other 21st-century amenities and technological innovations.

He described the development as a “game changer” which will include a new expressway to link the seaside city to Lal-lo town, 60 kilometers to the southwest and site of the Cagayan North International Airport (CNIA), with carrying capacity to be upgraded with the addition of two to three-kilometer runways and a multi-story passenger terminal.

Lambino said City Polaris would be a compact development that would feature upscale residential buildings, a sprawling business park, civic center, tertiary hospital, condominium buildings, premium villas and online gaming operations.

CEZA recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), assigning to the famous Italian firm Mercurio Design Lab the master – planning of the compact city, and to LongRunn Capital Pte. Ltd. exclusive rights as the overall main developer, operator and engineering, procurement and construction contractor of the project.

LongRunn Capital, an offshore firm registered in Singapore, was represented by its chairman and CEO, Li Jianmin James and its director, Vincent Lim.

“We have never anticipated a project of this magnitude. This will be a game changer in our efforts to develop the Cagayan Special Economic Zone and Freeport,” Lambino said in a statement, adding that the commitment of LongRunn to finish the project in two years is the other big surprise.

Named after the North Star, the City Polaris would combine some of the best innovations of 21st-century technology and the unsurpassed luxury of nature in Sta. Ana, the emerging epicenter of development in Northern Luzon, Lambino added.

Under the MoU, LongRunn will upgrade, expand and modernize CNIA in Lal-lo town with the construction of additional facilities like hangars, cargo warehouses, power and waste plants, and duty free shopping malls with high-end restaurants.

The firm will also invest in establishing a regional airline and conduct a global marketing program and produce promotional materials for the pre-sale of facilities and units at City Polaris.

“For [CEZA’s] part, we shall extend to LongRunn Capital a master license for the development and operation of land-based and online gaming in addition to various fiscal incentives being offered by the agency,” Lambino said.

He said these include the grant of permanent residency status for foreign investors and immediate family members, with an investment of $150,000 and lifetime membership in the City Polaris Golf Club.

https://www.manilatimes.net/4-5-b-city-polaris-to-rise-in-cagayan/486084/