PALAYAN CITY, Nueva Ecija, June 12, 2011-Governor Aurelio Umali said that the provincial government of Nueva Ecija is constructing a P100-million tourism park and watersports complex in this provincial capital aimed at converting the province into a sports-adventure zone and tourist mecca in the country.
Umali said that the tourism project centers on the development of the Aulo Dam irrigation project as the nerve center of water sports activities, taking a cue from the CamSur Watersports Complex (CWC), easily the country’s biggest tourist draw because of its water sporting events.
The development of the P295-million, 27-meter high Aulo Dam, which irrigates 810 hectares, will be undertaken by the provincial government through a P100-million loan package in collaboration with the Department of National Defense (DND), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the National Irrigation Administration (NIA).
“This development of the Aulo Dam is very much like CamSur except that what we are developing is a dam, unlike CamSur which developed a man-made lake,” Umali said. He said the provincial government has hired CamSur Gov. Luis Raymond “LRay” Villafuerte as consultant in developing the tourism park and sports complex.
Umali said he, Vice Gov. Jose Gay Padiernos and other local officials in the province recently visited CamSur and were awed by its success story in tourism which propelled it into greater economic heights.
He said that prior to the establishment of its water sports complex, CamSur was mired as the 39th poorest province in the country but has since emerged as the 10th richest province.
Today, the CamSur local government is the only eco-tourism zone in the country endorsed by the Department of Trade and Industry’s special attached agency, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority.
“It’s amazing how tourists now go gaga over CamSur. We have to learn from its experience and take it from there to carve a niche for Nueva Ecija as an emerging tourist mecca,” he said.
The CWC features a world-class six-hectare complex with a six-point cable ski system for cable skiing, wakeboarding, knee boarding, water skiing and wake skating. It is now widely known as the best cable park in Asia.
Across the road from the CWC is the Lago del Rey family entertainment and water sports facility where a giant man-made lake features water slides, an aqua obstacle course and boat-towed wakeboarding and skiing. Families can go swimming, kayaking, dragon boating, aqua wall climbing or play water volleyball and water polo.
Tourists and water sports enthusiasts from around the world have flocked to seek out adventures in CamSur, which will host the 22nd Philippine Advertising Congress in November. It has hosted several high-profile events, including the annual Summit Water CamSur Marathon and the Ultimate Wake Championship, two of the country’s most important sporting events which include athletes from as far as the United States, Europe, South Africa and from all over Asia.
Umali said that the Aulo Development Park will feature zipline, zafari and zoo and offer activities for wakeboarding, motorbiking, mountain trailing and camping site.
“Nueva Ecija is the next big thing to Metro Manila and we will capitalize on our water resources to breathe life to tourism because water is life,” he said.
He said the provincial government’s tourism enterprise will be eco-friendly with only e-vehicles allowed to come inside the facility. (Jason de Asis)
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