THE Cebu provincial government has announced that it is 70 to 90 percent ready to host the upcoming ASEAN Summit, with major infrastructure, security and logistics preparations already in place. Final refinements are ongoing as Cebu positions itself as a key hub for high-level international gatherings.
PHOTOGRAPH courtesy of Cebu Government Pio
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Five major resorts in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu will serve as official billeting sites for heads of state during the 48th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit.
Lapu-Lapu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office chief Dr. Nagiel Banacia said all visiting leaders will be staying within the city. “If there are heads of state who will be staying outside Lapu-Lapu? The answer is no,” he said.
The designated resort-hotels are Shangri-La Mactan Resort and Spa, Dusit Thani Mactan Cebu Resort, JPark Island Resort and Waterpark, Sheraton Cebu Mactan Resort and Crimson Resort and Spa Mactan.
“So all of them will be staying there,” Banacia said.
He added that the main summit venue will be the newly built Mactan Expo located in Mactan Newtown. “It is Mactan Expo… it’s a newly built summit hall,” he said.
Heads of state and their delegations are expected to arrive on 7 May for the BIMP-EAGA summit, ahead of the formal opening of the 48th ASEAN Summit on 8 May.
Cebu Governor Pamela Baricuatro said around 11 heads of state are expected, with organizers projecting more than 2,000 media practitioners from international, national and local outlets. She placed overall readiness at about 80 percent, citing ongoing installations and upcoming full dress rehearsals.
“Let us show the whole world and ASEAN that Cebuanos are kind, hospitable, and clean,” Baricuatro said.
