As the city government pushes its tourism campaign, the local government unit reiterated its plan to renovate the Leyte Park Hotel complex which was built 44 years ago by former First Lady Imelda Marcos.

City administrator Anacleto Rei Lacanilao III said they are still finalizing the details, including the budget.

It was last October when the planned renovation was announced.

“The renovation plan is ongoing. The city government will fund the project. We will find resources since there are many ways to finance it. I’m still not sure when this will start since I don’t want to create expectations. We will renovate as soon as we can,” Lacanilao told reporters on Monday.

Last year, Mayor Alfred Romualdez said the city government was attempting to obtain a loan from the Land Bank of the Philippines, half of which would be used to purchase and renovate the hotel.

The 6.1-hectare Leyte Park Hotel complex was built in 1979 through the initiative of the former first lady.

The hotel was taken over by the government in 1986 after the Edsa People Power Revolution. Its ownership was transferred to the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority, the Privatization Management Office, and the provincial government of Leyte.

In 1994, the hotel was leased to a private company but the company decided to build a new property in the city and shut down Leyte Park Resort Hotel in late 2021.

Lacanilao said that after renovation, the facility will be offered to a private company with the capacity and knowledge to run a hotel business.

Reopening the hotel would create at least 2,000 jobs and increase the number of hotel rooms needed by the city in anticipation of an influx of tourists and even investors. (PNA)