By Jennifer
Rendon (The Philippine Star) | Updated January 14, 2013 - 12:00am
MANILA,
Philippines - Outside of Metro Manila, Iloilo stands as the center of business
expansion for real estate giant Megaworld Corp.
And why
Iloilo? “It’s quite personal,” said Maricor Manlangit, Megaworld’s first vice
president for Strategic Planning. “Iloilo is very close to the heart of our
chairman, Andrew Tan. This is the first province that he visited while he was
still working.”
“At that
time, he fell in love with the province. I think it struck him that much that
the acquisition of the property is very sentimental to him,” Manlangit added.
In a press
conference Saturday, Manlangit said Megaworld is projected to pour in P25
billion for the entire development of the Iloilo Business Park in Mandurriao
district, Iloilo City.
Harold
Geronimo, director for Strategic Marketing and Communications, added that
Iloilo is located in a very strategic area and in the middle of Western
Visayas.
“So, we are
looking at a very promising location and our entry into this region has been in
the works for the longest time.”
Geronimo said
that Iloilo, being the regional center in Region 6, is the best place to start
and expand Megaworld’s business outside of Metro Manila.
“We already
have a project in Cebu and in Western Visayas, we’ll be starting in Iloilo.
Apart from that, we’ve seen how Iloilo has expanded with the introduction of
international flights,” he said.
Right now,
there are direct flights from Iloilo to Singapore and Hong Kong and vice versa.
There are plans to open direct flights to India soon.
“We really
see the potential of Iloilo as a tourist area. People are coming to see to
Iloilo,” Geronimo added.
In a few
years, Megaworld executives excitedly announced that Western Visayas will soon
see the rise of a boom town, as Megaworld construct a boutique hotel and
commercial district a lifestyle mall, business process outsourcing (BPO) office
buildings, and a convention center in the anticipated Iloilo Business Park.
Roland
Tiongson, SAVP for Business Leasing and Development Group, said that at least
25,000 jobs will be up for grabs for the BPOs alone.
There would
be more for construction, hotel and convention center staff, and mall
personnel.
“As we extend out ‘live-work-play’ formula to
Iloilo, we’re expecting a breakthrough in Western Visayas in terms of business
and tourism, which will be brought by the world-class developments that
Megaworld has always been known for,” shared Jericho Go, Megaworld’s Vice
President for Business Leasing and Development Group.
Aligning the
expansive Megaworld Boulevard, the 54-hectare mixed-use development will house
the Megaworld Center Mall, Festive Walk, the international brand Marriott
Courtyard Hotel, Richmonde Hotel, and the Iloilo Convention Center.
The Megaworld
Center Mall will be Iloilo’s first upscale and first stand alone mall outside
of Metro Manila.
A 9.7-hectare
subdivision lot, on the other hand, is allotted for the boutique hotel and
commercial district, which will be one of the highlights in the Iloilo Business
Park.
“We’ve been
talking lots of interested business owners who want to operate within this
exciting new district of the township. This is going to be exclusive only to
the privileged few,” Manlangit said.
Iloilo
Convention Center, on the other hand, is a joint venture between Megaworld and
the local government. It will be built on a 1.7 hectare lot to be funded
collective by Senator Franklin Drilon’s annual priority development assistance
fund, the Department of Tourism, and the Tourism Infrastructure and the
Enterprise Zone Authority.
The
convention center, touted as Iloilo’s largest, is designed for big conferences,
exhibitions, and trade fairs.
Like
Megaworld’s other townships, the business park will be based on the company’s
pioneering ‘live-work-play’ concept. The winning formula has propelled its
Manila projects – Eastwood City, Forbestown Center, McKinley Hill, and Newport
City – to success.
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