LINGAYEN, PANGASINAN — The provincial government on Thursday paved the way of bringing in sustainable tourism projects with the groundbreaking and signing of a memorandum of agreement for the construction of the Pangasinan Tourism Rest Area at the Capitol grounds here with the Department of Tourism and the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA).
Gov. Ramon V. Guico III, DoT Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco, and TIEZA Assistant Chief Operations Officer Gregory A. Oller signed the MOA after the groundbreaking ceremony of the tourism facility that will serve as a convergence point where foreign and local visitors could get information on tourism sites, attractions, how to get to those places and accommodations in Pangasinan.
Gov. Guico, in thanking the DOT and the TIEZA for the project, said that the province has already lined up several game-changing tourism projects for Pangasinan.
Gov. Guico said tourism projects are on deck, including the ongoing redevelopment of the Capitol Complex, which includes a more than 200-meter reflective pool and interactive fountain located at the back of the Capitol building.
“This will also complement the projects of our honorable congressman Mark Cojuangco, him prioritizing flooding, accessibility, and issues in this area. And the Capitol is making plans that will boost the tourism and make it more convenient for our visitors to visit the Capitol Complex,” Gov. Guico said.
Gov. Guico said that other projects in the Capitol area are the construction of the 11-storey provincial capitol plaza that will house local and national government offices, a 300-room hotel, and a convention center that had already started (Phase 1); the establishment of ferry boat rides from the Limahong Channel here to the Hundred Islands in Alaminos City; and improved parking in the vicinity of the Minor Basilica of Manaoag, which is visited by around five to eight million pilgrims annually, among others.
The MOA states that TIEZA will fund the construction, the DOT will monitor and evaluate the project, and it will turn over the same to the province once construction is finished (Ruby F. Rayat, JP De Vera/PIMRO).
