The provincial government owned-Plaza del Norte Hotel and Convention Center located in Barangay Balacad here has been opened for lease after ceasing operation for more than two years since the start of the pandemic, a local official said Tuesday.
Provincial board member Franklin Respicio said that Governor Matthew Joseph Manotoc has been authorized to enter into a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with Keeners Inc., through its board of director Alberto Luis Linao, allowing the company to operate, manage, administer, and supervise the Plaza del Norte Hotel.
Respicio said the company is interested in taking over the 100-room hotel with convention facilities and dormitory-type buildings.
Manotoc was authorized to enter into the deal through a resolution approved by members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (Provincial Board) on Monday.
In 2019, private-owned Rivermount Hotel, based in Sarrat, Ilocos Norte, leased the property but the lease agreement has been terminated due to the pandemic.
Under the proposed five-year agreement, the new operator shall pay the provincial government a fixed sum of PHP350,000 in monthly rental fees during the first six months of operation with a two-month security deposit payable in advance.
As part of the agreement, Respicio said, “the operator can lease parts of the property to other tenants.”
In the first three months of taking over the property, the operator can also introduce some improvements to the facilities of the hotel and convention center.
Eyed to become the choice for both leisure travelers and the MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions) market, the government-owned four-hectare Plaza del Norte Hotel was funded by the Development Bank of the Philippines during the term of then governor and now President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
It opened in March 2010 and the provincial government since then has hired a private hotel management company to operate it.
The provincial local finance said the amortization for the hotel and convention center will be fully paid by November. (PNA)
