BUSINESS CONFERENCE OPENS A WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY
City Mayor James ‘’Bong’’ Gordon, Jr. joined some sixty (60) Russian businessmen in a dialogue with government officials and local traders during the Philippine-Russian Business Conference held at the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) on August 7, 2009.
“A Russian developer plans to invest $80 million or about P3.76-billion, for a hotel-resort project in a thirty-six (36) hectare property in Mactan Island, where previously the Coral Reef Resort is located,’’ Mayor Gordon said during the flag raising ceremonies of city government officials and employees on August 17, 2009 at the Rizal Triangle Multi-Purpose Center.
‘’In addition to the hotel-resort project in Cebu, the company is also eyeing huge projects in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone (SBFZ) for its tropical forest paradise and another project in Camarines Sur considering its tourism potentials in the country,’’ Gordon added.

Olongapo First Lady and Zambales Vice Gov. Anne Marie Gordon, City Councilors Gina G. Perez and Edwin Piano with Business Permit and Licensing Office head Neal Perez, Tourism Office OIC head Lei Montoya, Olongapo City Convention Center administrator Marlon Bravo and Metro Olongapo Chamber of Commerce (OBC), Inc. (MCCI) chairman Samuel del Rosario and MCCI president Aurelio V. Pineda, Jr. and other business group officials attended the conference.

Also present during the assembly were President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Russian Federation Chargé d’affaires Sergei Shepilov at Alexander Zusik, ang presidente ng Philippine-Russia International Development Enterprise (PRIDE), who revealed the large-scale Russian funded development projects in the country.

Meanwhile, the business conference also intends to increase the country’s trade relations with Russia, while the Russian government is seeking to invest in business-process outsourcing (BPO) and in mining.

It can be recalled that in June this year, the President and Mayor Gordon, with other top officials, made a three-day official visit to Russia coinciding with the 13th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

The following month, Alexander Zusik, president of the Philippine-Russia International Development Enterprise (PRIDE), Andrey Zverev, general director ng PRIDE’s Moscow Office at Elizabeth Joudro arrived in Olongapo to scout for probable business ventures and tourist destinations in the city.