Saturday, October 20, 2007 Mall to rise at IT park By Malou M. Mozo Sun.Star Staff Reporter
THE Cebu Property Ventures and Development Corp. (CPVDC) has earmarked investments worth P760 million for the construction of a business process outsourcing (BPO) building and an entertainment facility at the Asiatown IT (information technology) Park.
CPVDC president Francis Monera said the ongoing construction at the former site of The Village will pave the way for a food and entertainment facility that is expected to be completed this year.
The P60-million project will have two floors with 1,800 square meters of total leasable space, Monera said in an interview.
“It will support the requirements of the IT Park,” he said.
What used to be The Village will become a mall with high-end retail stores, including food outlets, coffee shops, and beauty and wellness centers operating 24 hours a day, from Monday to Sunday.
Monera said the new mall will cater to the needs of the more than 10,000 workers of business process outsourcing (BPO) companies at the Asiatown IT Park.
He also revealed that construction is underway for a P700-million building, located next to Skyrise, that will house more BPO firms. The nine-story building will have 26,000 square meters of leasable area and two above-ground parking spaces.
More investors
It is set to be finished by September next year, said Monera.
“With the increase in leasable space and additional support facilities, we expect to attract even more investors to locate at the Asiatown IT Park as the preferred destination (of BPO and IT-related companies),” he said.
Monera earlier said second phase of the Asiatown IT Park project includes the development of a five-hectare property to meet the increasing demand of IT companies.
He cited the strong take-up of commercial lots at Asiatown IT Park, including the seven office lots sold ahead of the target schedule, as a strong indicator that the zone will continue to be an attraction to investors in the coming years.
The 48-hectare Asiatown IT Park houses IT and IT-related companies, BPO companies, coffee shops and restaurants.
Asiatown IT Park was declared an IT special economic zone in 2000 by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority.
Asiatown IT Park is a development project of CPVDC, a subsidiary of the Ayala-led Cebu Holdings Inc.
CPVDC’s net revenue last year rose to P248.6 million from P122 million in the previous year. Its net income went up to P83.5 million last year from P33 million in 2005.
