President Aquino recently inaugurated the new Cavitex expressway linking Las Piñas City to the town of Kawit in Cavite. The 7 kilometer highway was built by UEM-Mara Philippines Corp. in partnership with the government.
The highway was built on reclaimed land at the cost of 5.5 billion pesos. It expects to cut travel time from Manila to Kawit and to decongest traffic from Aguinaldo Hi-way. From Manila to Kawit, what used to be a 1 and 1/2 hour ride will now take you around 20 minutes.
The Cavitex expressway will officially open to motorists on May 1, 2011. Toll rates will stay for P58.00 for one year. Popular actress Marian Rivera has endorsed this project where she appears in a TV commercial. You can watch the commercial below:
Federal Land will bring the prestigious Grand Hyatt brand to the Philippines. Federal Land which is part of the MetroBank Group is currently building the Grand Hyatt high-rise hotel in Bonifacio Global City.
The hotel is set to rise from a 10 hectare mix-use complex. Standing at 66-stories high, Grand Hyatt Manila will be the tallest hotel in the Philippines. It will have 400 luxurious rooms and suites. Once completed in 2014, the building will definitely change the skyline of Manila.
According to Federal Land, the first six floors of the skyscraper will house the hotel podium and ballroom. The shops and restaurants will also be located here. The 8th to 30th floors will be occupied by office spaces while the 31st floor to the 66th floor will house the rooms and other hotel amenities.
Once completed, the socialities of Manila will have another alternative hotel selection to the Makati Shangri-la and Manila Peninsula to wine and dine and stay for a weekend night.
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| Artist Perspective of SM Calamba |
SM is set to open 3 new malls this year. After opening SM City Tarlac early this year, SM Prime will soon open the doors of SM City San Pablo, SM City Calamba, and SM City Novaliches to avid shoppers.
SM City Calamba and SM City San Pablo will bring the SM experience closer to the local inhabitants of Laguna.
More malls are expected to be completed and opened in 2011. The plan of SM is to open 5 malls every year in fast urbanizing regions of the Philippines. I have compiled a list of SM supermalls and their projected opening dates.
SM City San Pablo - Sept. 2010
SM City Calamba - Oct. 2010
SM City Novaliches - Oct. 2010
SM City Antipolo - 2011
SM Supercenter Commonwealth - 2011
SM City Taguig - 2011
SM Supercenter Apalit - 2011
SM City North Davao - 2011
SM City Gen. Santos - 2011
SM City Tagaytay - 2012
On the drawing boards are malls in Laoag, Zamboanga, Santiago, Candelaria, Cabanatuan, and another mall in South Cebu.
Mang Inasal is one of the fastest growing fastfood chains in the country. In just under 8 years, it has grown to over 200 outlets nationwide. They are targeting 500 stores by 2012.
Mang Inasal offers Pinoy-style chicken barbecue. Originally from Iloilo, it has branched out to several key cities in the country including Metro Manila.
It doesn't offer the original Inasal style barbecue of Bacolod. Instead they offer their own concoction of special marinade, barbecued Filipino-style.
On this I must say, it is delicious. And only at P95.00 for its Paborito meals with one whole leg and thigh plus unlimited rice, it's definitely worth the bang for your buck.
The concept of unlimited rice is their winning formula. Filipinos just love to have their dishes with rice. And nothing beats unlimited servings of rice. You will definitely be full in no time.
They are very aggressive in their advertising campaigns with their huge billboards and active TVC featuring Mark Bautista. Mang Inasal is definitely here to stay.
A sample of a Mang Inasal TVC:
Photo credit to Raycoy Doop
The Comelec has proclaimed the 3 remaining senators to round up its magic 12. The last 3 senators proclaimed were Serge Osmena III, Manuel (Lito) Lapid, and Teofisto Guingona III.
They join the 9 winners in the election namely:
1) Bong Revilla
2) Jinggoy Estrada
3) Miriam Defensor-Santiago
4) Franklin Drilon
5) Juan Ponce Enrile
6) Pia Cayetano
7) Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos
8) Ralph Recto
9) Vicente Sotto III
They will join the current 12 senators:
1) Edgardo Angara
2) Benigno Simeon Aquino III (who will be vacating his post to serve the presidency)
3) Joker Arroyo
4) Allan Peter Cayetano
5) Francis "Chiz" Escudero
6) Gregorio "Gringo" Honasan
7) Panfilo Lacson
8) Loren Legarda
9) Francis Pangilinan
10) Antonio Trillanes IV
11) Manuel Villar, Jr.
12) Juan Miguel Zubiri
Ayala Land now has high-end luxury resorts under its portfolio. With the recent acquisition of a 60% stake in Ten Knots Development Corp., Ayala becomes the majority of the popular El Nido Resorts Miniloc Island and El Nido Resorts Lagen Island. This acquisition will definitely boost Ayala's tourism related businesses.
Ayala Land is one of the country's most respected real estate developers. It owns popular shopping malls like Glorietta, Greenbelt, and Trinoma. Its high end residential projects include Serendra, One Roxas Triangle, Greenbelt Residences. It is also into urban development with Bonifacio Global City and Nuvali.
Ten Knots Development Corporation was a former subsidiary of Anscor (A. Soriano Corp.) which is majority controlled by Andres Soriano III. He was the former chairman of San Miguel Corporation. It was later bought by the former Energy Secretary, Vicente Perez.
With the acquisition, we can expect the continued growth and maintenance of the resorts and nearby surroundings. This will also pave the way for more green developments for Ayala Land. Plans are already under way to open another resort in a nearby island.
Photo Credits to Eric.
With more and more movies being produced in 3D like Avatar, Up, and Iron Man 2 and more and more cinemas offering these 3D experiences, the home entertainment scene won't be left behind with electronics companies scrambling to bring the 3D experience to the living room as well.
Samsung Philippines recently launched its own 3D version to its LED TV series. The Samsung 3D TV is available in 40". It can convert traditional 2D to 3D with its HyperReal chipset technology. You would need to use its 3D active glasses in order to experience 3D.
The promise of more content being produced in 3D makes watching TV more exciting than ever before. It comes at a high price though. The Samsung 3D LED TV 40" retails at P169,900.00 and will soon be available at Avant, the lifestyle store of Abenson.