Tuesday, March 5, 2013

F1 Racing in Cebu

Rep. Tomas Osmeña (Cebu City, south district) has said he wants to put up a Formula 1 (F1) circuit, hotels and condominiums in Cordova, Cebu.

He said he has not talked to municipal officials about this but he said he had shared the idea with some investors.

Osmena said he wants to make Cebu a Mecca for fans of F1 racing.

"This could rival the Sinulog," he said, explaining that Cordova can provide one of the longer racing courses in the world, if not the longest.

A hotel and condominiums can be integrated into the F1 circuit, he said.

This F1 proposal will then make the Cordova Reclamation Project viable, he said.

Osmeña said he does not mind being labeled "crazy" for his big ideas.

His father Don Sergio Osmeña Jr. was responsible for transferring the airport from Lahug in Cebu City to Mactan. Others had also called the move "crazy."

Osmeña wants to develop Cordova because of its proximity to Cebu City.

He earlier even floated the idea of making Cordova a third congressional district of Cebu City.

Cordova Mayor Adelino Sitoy said he is amenable to the town being home to an F1 circuit.

Sitoy said that if investors do come to Cordova in response to Osmeña's proposal, he will welcome them with open arms and the only issue to be discussed is where they'll put up their business.

Sitoy said he would be happy if funding for the area development for the whole project will come from the National Government, Cebu Provincial Government or even the Cebu City Government.

On the other hand, Sitoy wished the airport will still be transferred to his town, and the F1 circuit will be built near it.

He said Cordova has a reclaimable area of 1,200 hectares that will connect to Shell Island.

Although Shell Island is part of Cordova, it is only 520 meters from Cebu City.

"If there is a tunnel or a bridge from Cebu City to Cordova, it can be connected by a skyway to a proposed new airport along Pilipog River," he said.

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