Posted on August 05, 2015 09:27:00 PM
[ BusinessWorld Online ]
THE VICSAL Group of Companies is
building Metro department store and supermarket near the township of Megaworld
Corp. in Iloilo.
Gaisano-led Metro Retail Stores Group,
Inc. bought roughly 9,000 square meters of commercial property within Iloilo
Business Park, Megaworld said in a statement.
The Gaisano group expects to realize
synergies from its partnership with the property company of tycoon Andrew L.
Tan.
The Cebu-based firm has embarked on an
aggressive expansion program in the last four years that saw the company expand
its retail footprint to 30 locations as of last year from only 8 in 2010.
In the next three years, the township
will be home to around 40,000 business process outsourcing (BPO) workers, a
ready market for retail establishments.
“As one of the largest retail chains
in the Visayas, they will be able to provide a wide variety of retail offerings
to the growing population of the township,” said Kevin L. Tan, Megaworld first
vice president and head of commercial.
The property bought by the Gaisano
group is not part of the commercial district on the southern part of the
township where 80% of the lots have been sold. The Metro retail stores will
rise along Megaworld Boulevard, between Richmonde Hotel Iloilo and the Festive
Walk Mall.
Megaworld is developing the township
located at the site of the old airport in Mandurriao district for P35 billion
over a 10-year period.
Iloilo Business Park will be home to
luxury residential condominiums, BPO office towers, a mall, two business
hotels, a financial and commercial district, the 1.1-kilometer Festive Walk
commercial and retail strip, open parks, transport hub, and the Iloilo
Convention Center, among others.
Shares in Megaworld shed seven
centavos or 1.42% to P4.85 apiece. -- Krista Angela M. Montealegre
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