Posted on 10:10 PM, March 10, 2010 [ BusinessWorld Online ]
ILOILO CITY -- Ayala Land, Inc. has entered into a lease agreement with an Iloilo City-based property developer for the construction of an information technology park in Mandurriao district.
Solomon M. Hermosura, Ayala Land assistant corporate secretary, said the firm recently signed the 35-year lease agreement with Riverside Boardwalk Properties, Inc. of the Pison family.
The deal allows Ayala Land to develop the two-hectare property adjacent to the Riverside Boardwalk and Smallville business and leisure parks in Mandurriao into the Ayala Techno Hub.
Mr. Hermosura said three separate buildings will rise on the Ayala Techno Hub with a total area of 19,000 square meters.
The hub will be constructed in three phases starting in the second quarter of 2010. The first three-storey building will cost P305 million, with a total leasable area of 9,500 square meters. It is expected to be finished by the first quarter of 2011.
Mr. Hermosura noted that Iloilo City is a very competitive and strong business processes outsourcing (BPO) destination.
“It has power, telecommunications, a commercial sea port and airport. It offers one of the lowest rental rates. Ayala Land’s project will be the biggest BPO development in Iloilo to date,” he said.
Snow A. Chua, Iloilo City development management officer, said Ayala Land’s project will boost the city’s BPO sector.
“BPO locators will now be convinced that the city is capable of housing bigger infrastructure as Ayala Land has invested here,” Ms. Chua said.
She added that the Ayala Land project dispels the notion that Iloilo City lacks power supply.
“Ayala Techno Hub is assured that there is enough power supply with the coal-fired power plant,” she said, referring to the 164-megawatt coal-fired power plant of Panay Energy Development Corp., which will be operational by September with an initial 82-megawatt transmission.
The plant will generate another 82 megawatts by December.
Meanwhile, the Iloilo City Council passed a resolution last week endorsing another property development project, the La Plazuela de Iloilo, as an IT center.
The council resolution also endorsed La Plazuela de Iloilo’s application for accreditation with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA).
The PEZA accreditation will entitle La Plazuela to tax perks for IT sector investors.
La Plazuela is a project of the Florete Group of Companies, owner of the Bombo Radyo network. It is a mixed-use commercial development project which can host BPO firms, restaurants and retail shops.
Named as one of the Top 10 BPO hubs in Asia Pacific by global network firm KPGM, Iloilo City hosts more than a dozen BPO companies.
Iloilo City is eyeing an economic zone status from the Philippine Economic Zone Authority to get fiscal incentives. -- Francis Allan L. Angelo
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