MEGAWORLD Corp., a leading property developer founded by billionaire Dr. Andrew Tan, expressed optimism that it can grow in all market segments and post double-digit growth in all segments in 2015.
“We expect townships to lead the way in our growth drive in 2015,” Jericho Go, senior vice president of Megaworld, said in a phone interview with the BusinessMirror.
“As far as Megaworld is concerned, we don’t foresee a property bubble. We don’t have speculative buyers. Just look at our condominiums—all are occupied,” Go added.
Megaworld has introduced 15 successful large-scale, master-planned, mixed-use townships across the country. These are the 18-hectare Eastwood City in Quezon City, the first cyberpark in the Philippines; Newport City in Pasay City, 25 hectares; McKinley West, 34.5 hectares; McKinley Hill, 50 hectares; Uptown Bonifacio, 15.4 hectares, and Forbes Town Center in Fort Bonifacio, 5 hectares; Mactan Newtown in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, 28.8 hectares; Iloilo Business Park in Mandurriao, Iloilo, 72 hectares; Woodside City in Pasig, 12.3 hectares and Davao Park District in Davao, 11 hectares.
Further, the company’s subsidiary Suntrust Properties is developing the 350-hectare Suntrust Ecotown and Global-Estate Resorts Inc. (Geri). Geri manages the 62-hectare Alabang West; the 561-hectare Southwoods City in the boundaries of Cavite and Laguna; the 150-hectare Boracay Newcoast in Boracay; and the 1,300-hectare Twin Lakes in Tagaytay.
Being the pioneer of the “live-work-play-learn lifestyle concept for mixed-use concept in the Philippines, known as townships, Go said the concept generated a lot of interest among foreign investors to invest in the Philippines. “Megaworld had the right business model in developing livable communities,” he said.
“A lot of people realized that they are reducing their carbon footprint and pursue green living,” Go added.
Geri is bullish on Alabang West because of its brisk sales and strong demand that prompted the company to launch another phase of the upscale village last year.
Of the total 788 available lots of the entire village, Geri reported almost 50 percent of the units have been sold out from October to December last year. The 62-hectare fully integrated posh township is on Daang Hari in Las Piñas City.
After the successful launch of Southwoods City and its residential village Pahara, Geri launched the Danish-inspired Holland Park, its first residential condominium development in the 561-hectare Southwoods City.
“The office rental and lease are also expected to expand, as companies, particularly multinational companies, are expected to expand their operations this year. The business-process outsourcing (BPO) industry will be one of the main growth drivers for office,” Go said.
In line with its commitment to provide environmental sustainability, Megaworld’s 8 Campus Place Building A in McKinley Hill was recognized as the country’s first Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) gold-certified building for BPO companies. American bank Wells Fargo is the major client of 8 Campus Place.
“Megaworld remains committed to underpin the company’s vision of creating communities that promote sustainability for the environment and maximizing the use of land. We develop a master plan where residential, commercial and office towers will be in one secured location while we are building environment-friendly structures. Expect more green office towers in the years to come in the company,” Go said.
The 8 Campus Place Building A is comprised of three five-story buildings with a total leasable floor area of 30,000 square meters. Aside from Wells Fargo, other Megaworlds clients from the BPO sector are Accenture, International Business Machines, Hewlett-Packard and Citibank.
As far as provincial expansion is concerned, Go said the 72-hectare Iloilo Business Park township is getting a lot of interest from locators.
Megaworld is investing P35 billion for its development in the next 10 years, its biggest and most exciting venture in Western Visayas.
The Davao Park District is attracting a lot of interest to investors, as Davao is recognized as a key growth center in Mindanao. Located in an 11-hectare property along the S.P. Dakudao Loop, Davao Park District is envisioned to be Davao City’s central business district (CBD) and a major center for information technology and BPO (IT-BPO) in Mindanao.
Megaworld is allocating P15 billion in the next five to seven years to build and develop the township that will be suited for BPO companies and other corporate offices.
The 28.8-hectare Mactan Newtown is the first major township development with its own beach outside Metro Manila. Aside from high-end office towers, luxury condominiums, leisure amenities, retail shops, a school supervised by Lasso, and upscale hotels in one secured and enclosed area, township also features a cyberpark.
The IT park houses One World Center with international BPO companies, such as Results Manila and EnfraUSA Solutions Inc. Other BPO offices in the township are Two World Center, Eight Newtown Boulevard and Pacific Garden Tower.
“The company will have at least five to 10 more office towers in the township by 2021, which will have a capacity of 150,000 sq m of office spaces and will accommodate an estimated 45,000 workers in the IT-BPO sector,” Go said.
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Megaworld is certainly a powerhouse in its own right. They really know their market very well. Kudos. Mactan Newtown in Cebu is such a bargain. I mean, where else in the Philippines can you find premier condo living in a white sand beach and everything in between, like an international airport 5 minutes away from your home.