By Zinnia B. Dela Peña (The Philippine Star) Updated November 29, 2010 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc., the holding firm for majority of the real estate assets of the Villar family, has earmarked about P11 billion over the next five years for its masterplanned community in the southern portion of the metropolis, marking its entry into integrated township development.
The self-contained project to be called Evia will rise on a 600-hectare property in the Las Piñas-Alabang area, consisting of business, commercial, educational, and leisure districts.
Around P1 billion has been set aside for the construction of a Lifestyle Center to cater to the needs of residents.
The company aims to attract a range of commercial locators, businesses including BPOs and IT-heavy sectors, healthcare entities, leisure facilities, and innovative educational institutions such as corporate universities and schools for new technologies.
Already located in the area are high-end, mid-range and entry-level residential and commercial projects under the brands Brittany, Crown Asia and Camella These include Brittany’s Portofino, Crown Asia’s Ponticelli, and Camella’s Cerritos, which offer nearly 5,500 residential units on about 150 hectares.
Serrano said these projects have primed Evia for other residents and locators, while enhancing property values in the area
“In building Evia as a city for the 21st century, Vista Land will play a key role in defining the shape of urban development in the mega-metropolis, while creating added value for stakeholders, and strengthening its own growth by significantly increasing and broadening revenue opportunities,” Serrano said.
“This is a long-term direction that anticipates urban growth, specifically in the south. Residents and locators need quality homes and communities, but just as importantly, they need a full array of facilities, resources and services right where they live and work, in a strategic location with access to other urban centers,” Serrano added.
Evia traverses and interconnects four major destinations south of Manila, Alabang, Las Pinas and the neighboring towns of Cavite and Laguna — making it a vital economic indicator as it connects people and strengthens livelihood.
“There is also a plan to connect the road to the South Luzon Expressway so that in the future, Evia will connect to two more major highways : SLEX on the South East and Aguinaldo Highway on the South West. These road linkages and commercial development will pull land prices of the area higher,” Serrano said.
As of end-September this year, the company had a total landbank of 1,653 hectares, 1,327 of which are owned by the group while the remaining 326 are through joint ventures.
Vista Land recently raised $100 million from the global bond market and has obtained over P1 billion in debt from a group of local banks to fund its projects.
The company set a P10.2-billion capital expenditure program this year, P7 billion of which has already been spent.
Vista Land reported a 36 percent jump in net earnings in the nine months ending September this year on robust sales, fueled by new product launches and strong remittances from overseas Filipinos.
Core net income which stripped off one-time non-cash items arising from debt repayment, rose 16 percent to P2.16 billion. Revenues went up 14 percent to P8.2 billion.
Vista Land is confident it could exceed its core net income and sales targets for the year of P2.8 billion and P20 billion, respectively.
The company will be launching six to eight more projects in the fourth quarter, valued at P5 billion and equivalent to 2,000 units. These new projects will rise in Ormoc, Cebu, and Leyte, among others where families of OFWs are increasing in number.
This brings total number of projects launched by the company as of September this year to 30, translating to 8,000 units with a value of around P19 billion.
Of the 30 projects located mostly in the provinces, 22 are in the low and affordable segment, three in the middle income segment, three in the high-end and two condominium projects.
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