Saturday, October 25, 2008 [ sunstar.com.ph ]
WANTING to tap the potential of Cebu as an emerging outsourcing destination for global firms, a Cebu-based family has converted its five-hectare property along Don Sergio Osmeña Blvd. in the North Reclamation Area (NRA), Cebu City into an information technology (IT) park.
The Go family started putting up the Qimonda IT Center in March 2008. It is expected to be complete by the end of this year, along with site development features like a taxi and bus terminal and a small park.
“We wanted to diversify and venture into real estate. We, being locals in Cebu and having an available property, decided to take advantage of the booming business process outsourcing (BPO) industry here,” said cousins Jonas and Albert Go, whose families are engaged in food manufacturing and agribusiness.
The six-storey center provides a total leasable space of about 22,800 square meters. It covers about half a hectare of the entire property, which used to be an idle lot that has been with the Go family for about a decade already.
The ground floor will be designed for al fresco dining, recruitment centers and logistics offices, while the second up to the sixth floors will be built for call centers and BPO facilities.
Change of image
The cousins said they wanted to change the image of the area as a shipping area, and that what they will have will be similar to the Asiatown IT Park.
“But what differentiates us is our wide leasable spaces and competitive rates,” said Albert.
The Go family initially made a budget of P500 million as an investment for the building but, according to Jonas, they were able to save because they were able to avail themselves of construction materials at a lower cost.
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