[ Manila Bulletin Online ] July 9, 2008
By JAMES A. LOYOLA
Robinsons Land Corporation (RLC), the country’s largest office landlord, is developing seven BPO and call center sites this year to expand its office space inventory and give its clients a stronger presence in the provinces.
RLC president Frederick Go said in an interview that while many of these projects are relatively small compared to their projects in Metro Manila, these provincial office spaces give BPOs a chance to relocate to the region of their choice.
He added that these BPO spaces will be built together with new malls and will have about 5,000 square meters of leasable space costing "just a few hundred million pesos."
RLC disclosed earlier that it is allotting R13.9 billin for capital expenditures for 2008 and 2009 of which 40 percent will be used to build new malls while the rest will be for office and residential developments.
To be developed by RLC’s Office Buildings Division in tandem with its Commercial Centers Division, the seven new projects are adapting the mixed use format, a strategy RLC pioneered when it built the Robinsons Galleria Center.
"We are currently incorporating office spaces intended for BPOs and call center operators in our shopping mall developments, specifically Robinsons Luisita in Tarlac City, Robinsons Cybergate Cebu between Cebu’s Chong Hua Hospital and Fuente Osmena," said Henry Yap, Business Unit General Manager for RLC’s Office Buildings Division.
He added that "Robinsons Cybergate Davao, along J. P. Laurel in the Bajada District, and Robinsons Cybergate Plaza in Mandaluyong City are also under construction and will be ready for occupancy by next year. We are currently accepting lease inquiries for all these properties."
These projects are in addition to two recently completed projects in Robinsons Otis, in Manila and Cybergate Tower 3 in Mandaluyong City – both of which are now ready for occupancy.
BPO and call center firms are rapidly expanding into the provinces due to lower costs of operations, larger manpower pool and lower rate of employee turnover.
In addition, the relatively lower cost of operations in the Philippines have encouraged many firms in the United States and Western Europe to outsource their operations to the Philippines, thereby making these sites even more desirable and lucrative.
"We are also giving these BPOs an opportunity to undertake pioneering efforts in our sites, a move that is very much encouraged and supported by the local government units that hosts our malls and offices buildings," said Yap.
RLC, a leading property developer and landlord of choice, foresees that locators for business process outsourcing and the call center industry in general, are gearing their expansion plans toward key regional urban centers.
"These areas—-Cebu, Davao, Northern Luzon and the Calabarzon areas offer talented and highly skilled human resources sourced from prestigious educational institutions that are highly proficient in English," added Yap.
RLC has built BPOs and call centers in Bacolod, Lipa (Batangas) and Sta. Rosa (Laguna) and Cainta (Rizal). In Metro Manila, in addition to Robinsons Novaliches and two Cybergate Towers within the Forum Robinsons Complex in Mandaluyong City.
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