July 2, 2014 9:27 pm [ manilatimes.net
]
by Ritchie A. Horario
In its drive to expand nationwide,
AboitizLand has allotted more than P5 billion as capital expenditure for this
year.
Andoni Aboitiz, AboitizLand president
and chief executive officer, said the budget is 35 percent higher than the 2013
capex.
“We remain bullish on the property
sector and want to enter the market nationally,” said Aboitiz.
He said more than 50 percent of its
capital expenditure is allocated to residential development, while the rest
will go to industrial and commercial projects.
Apart from its existing land bank in
Cebu, the company is now looking at gaining a foothold in Mindanao through
residential and industrial developments in Davao City.
In Luzon, after its initial entry through
the acquisition of Lima Technology Center in Batangas, it is now looking into
residential and commercial developments in Mega Manila in the medium term.
“Our vision is not just to build, but
to establish thriving communities where we are located,” said Aboitiz.
On top of these, the land developer
disclosed that infrastructure development is also increasingly becoming part of
its portfolio as it looks at more public-private partnership projects.
“We are looking at more airport and
toll road projects,” added Aboitiz.
AboitizLand currently has eight
ongoing residential projects in Cebu,
consisting of both vertical and
horizontal developments, and has recently opened phase two of the Pristina
North Residences in its integrated community Pristina North.
Through a joint venture with Ayala
Land, it is also developing a new business district on a 15-hectare lot in
Mandaue City, which will be launched in 2015.
It recently expanded its Lima
Technology Center in Batangas to 486 hectares, through the acquisition of an
additional 153 hectares to take advantage of the growing demand for more
industrial space in Luzon.
AboitizLand reported a 181 percent
increase in its bottomline in the first quarter to P121.1 million from P43.1
million in the same period last year.
The growth was mainly due to the 100
percent consolidation of Lima Land Inc.
AboitizLand is a subsidiary of listed
conglomerate Aboitiz Equity Ventures, which has interests in power, banking and
food.
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