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Powered paragliding business in Marpi eyed
Taiwanese investors say paragliders will make Marpi sky more colorful
Investors mainly from Taiwan are seeking a permit from the CNMI Zoning Office to operate a powered paragliding business on private land along Banzai Cliff Road in Marpi.
Top Sheng Investment LLC is investing $96,000 for its paragliding project on 1,000 square meters of land. Yueping Guo is listed as the lessee of the property.
Richard Peng, the contact person of Top Sheng Investment LLC, in an interview disclosed that visitors from South Korea and China are currently their main targets, but they hope to bring more Japanese tourists in the near future.
Peng said one of their trainers will be hired from Japan.
Asked why the company has chosen Marpi, Peng said paragliders need to stay away from the airport and avoid intrusion into private airspace.
“It can be said that it is the safest activity in all current air activities,” he said.
Peng said the company’s fly route is along the coastline, but they will see to it they will not disturb the tourists on the ground.
Peng said powered paragliding will make the sky in Marpi more colorful.
The Zoning Office has invited the public to attend and provide comments at the Zoning Board hearing this Thursday at 5pm at the Pedro P. Tenorio Multipurpose Center in Susupe on Top Sheng Investment LLC’s request for conditional use permit to operate the powered paragliding business.
Peng is the same contact person of Fortune Pacific Corp., which also sought Zoning board’s approval for permit in July 2017 to operate a paragliding business on a private land south of the Kalabera Cave in Marpi.
Peng said Fortune Pacific’s paragliding business project was never operated due to the land clear permit, the large number of flies brought by the nearby cattle farms, and the bumpy roads to the destination.
