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2 groups plan zipline in Marpi; 2 others eye cable cars
DPL secretary says public lands running out
If investors would have their way, Saipan would have ziplines and cable cars in no time. Department of Public Lands Secretary Pete A. Tenorio confirmed with Saipan Tribune yesterday that two separate business groups are each asking for public lands for a zipline in Marpi, while two other investor groups want to develop cable cars in two different spots.
“That’s a lot of rides,” Tenorio said in an interview, after presenting before the Rotary Club of Saipan the challenges that DPL faces.
Tenorio, a former lieutenant governor and former resident representative to Washington, D.C., said two investor groups have already submitted proposals to lease public lands for a zipline in the Marpi area, specifically from Suicide Cliff all the way down to the Kan Pacific site.
He said if the ziplines materialize, Saipan could also market itself as an adventure destination.
Tenorio said DPL will meet with the Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Quality, Historic Preservation Office, Marianas Visitors Authority and other agencies about the proposed ziplines and cable cars.
“Then two other companies are interested in developing cable cars. One is in the Marpi area—from the radar station to the Suicide Cliff area. The other one is from Tapochau to the Sugar King Park,” he said.
The planned Tapochau-Sugar King Park cable car had already been reported last year. That was the brainchild of designer Heinz Staffler and architect Herman Cabrera—to build a cable car that takes passengers from Sugar King Park in Garapan to the apex of Mount Tapochau in less than 10 minutes.
A cable car is a transportation system that typically travels up and down a mountain in which cabins are suspended on a continuous moving cable driven by a motor at one end of the route.
