KidZania Manila set to open in 2015

Interactive children’s city theme park KidZania expects to host more than 600,000 visitors annually once it opens at Bonifacio Global City early next year.

Combining education and entertainment, Play Innovations President and CEO Maricel Pangilinan-Arenas said the PhP1-billion interactive kid-sized city will cater to youngsters, from age 4 to 14, with over 100 role-playing activities in various establishments set up within its two-level area.

“We want to give children a chance to discover the areas of interests and their different talents. Because children who love what they do will do it well and they will become better citizens. If you look at the theme line of KidZania, it’s ‘Get Ready for a Better World.’ And our vision is really to inspire children and empower them to believe that they can contribute toward making a better world. And it starts by building better communities,” she said.

KidZania Manila is the first of its kind kid’s edutainment concept park in the country, in addition to 15 locations in 12 countries worldwide. It is 73-percent owned by ABS-CBN Corp., while the remaining 23-percent is held by Singaporean investors.

Play Innovations, the local franchise owner, is seeking tax incentives from the Board of Investments, after getting an endorsement from the Tourism Department.