An Italian designer and a Singaporean property developer have joined forces to undertake an ambitious $4.5-billion modern satellite city in the Sta. Ana, Cagayan.

Secretary Raul Lambino, administrator and CEO of Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA).

The plan was firmed up with the recent signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) of Secretary Raul Lambino, administrator and CEO of Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) with Italian designer Mercurio Design Lab and the Singaporean property developer LongRunn Capital Pte. Ltd.

The MOU assigns to the famous Mercurio Design Lab the master-planning of the compact city, and to LongRunn Capital Pte. Ltd the exclusive rights to be the overall main developer, operator and engineering, procurement and construction contractor.

The modern satellite city will involve the development of 500 hectares for “Polaris City” and 500 hectares for airport development.

There will be six-star hotels, casinos, golf courses, a cyberpark for digital currency and other 21st-century amenities and technological innovations would soon rise at a scenic seaside in Sta. Ana, Cagayan, a development described as a “game changer” by Lambino.

A new expressway would link the seaside city, to be named “City Polaris,” to Lal-lo town, 60 kms to the southwest and site of the Cagayan North International Airport, whose carrying capacity would be upgraded with the addition of two three-kilometer runways and a multi-story passenger terminal, Lambino said.

“We have never anticipated a project of this magnitude,” said Lambino in a press statement. “This will be a game changer in our efforts to develop the Cagayan Special Economic Zone and Freeport.”
The commitment of LongRunn Capital, an offshore firm, to finish the project in two years” is the other big surprise, Lambino said.

LongRunn Capital was represented by its chairman and CEO Li Jianmin James and its director Vincent Lim.

Lambino said City Polaris, named after the North Star, would combine some of the best innovations of 21st-century technology and the “unsurpassed luxury of nature” in Sta. Ana, the emerging epicenter of development in Northern Luzon.

The MOU also covers an agreement for LongRunn Capital to upgrade, expand and modernize the airport in Lal-lo with the construction of additional facilities like hangars, cargo warehouses, power and waste plants and duty-free shopping malls with high-end restaurants.

City Polaris would be a compact development that additionally will feature upscale residential buildings, a sprawling business park, civic center, tertiary hospital, condominium buildings, premium villas and online gaming operations.

LongRunn Capital would also invest in the establishment of a regional airline company.

Under the MOU, it would also endeavor to conduct a global marketing program and produce promotional materials for the pre-sale of facilities and units at City Polaris.

CEZA for its part shall extend to LongRunn Capital a master license for the development and operation of land-based and online gaming in addition to various fiscal incentives being offered by the agency.

These include, among others, the grant of permanent residency status for foreign investors and immediate family members with an investment of US$150,000 and lifetime membership in the City Polaris Golf Club.