PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan — The local government here has expressed optimism in swiftly achieving its ambition of becoming the premier “Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions Capital of the Philippines.”

Puerto Princesa City Mayor Lucilo Bayron stressed that the city has the capacity to develop what he anticipates will be the biggest convention centers in the country during Puerto Princesa’s celebration of its 152nd founding anniversary and the 20th year of the Balayong Festival.

He added that the convention center initiatives — particularly the Pawikan Convention Center and the Shell Convention Center — are designed to host over 40,000 individuals.

Bayron said that the realization of the two projects hinges on the development potential of the 1,072-hectare environmental estate in Barangay Sta. Lucia, facilitated by the city government’s submission of an application to the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority to designate the area as a “Tourism Economic Zone,” potentially boosting Puerto Princesa’s economy.

“Our premise rests on the existence of a national mandate necessitating ongoing education for professionals. The situation arises from the absence of sizable convention centers across the entire nation,” Bayron said.

The mayor added that the application has successfully cleared the evaluation stage and is slated to undergo appraisal and technical due diligence next, saying that if the environmental estate becomes a TEZ, it will have fiscal and non-fiscal incentives that will persuade investments.

“We will build a 30,000-capacity convention center with walkable hotels, a walkable entertainment area, and tourism destinations nearby,” Bayron said.

For tourism destinations, he said the city government will establish golf courses, open zoos, health spas with accommodations, shooting range, and a man-made lake with water sports.

During the celebration, the mayor also took pride in the success of the six chapters of the “Save the Puerto Princesa Bays” initiative, which resulted in the collection of 397.7 tons of waste from several coastal barangays surrounding the heart of the city’s sea.

Bayron also highlighted the commencement of one of the city’s largest projects in partnership with the National Housing Program under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., which is the Irawan Housing Project, capable of accommodating 5,400 families.