Friday, November 16, 2007 New building to rise at IT park
THE Cebu Property Ventures and Development Corp. (CPVDC) has unveiled another project at the Asiatown IT (information technology) Park to provide more space for IT and IT-enabled companies.
CPVDC is constructing eBloc, a 12-story mid-rise office condominium located along Jose Ma. Del Mar Avenue at the Asiatown IT Park. The building will also house spaces for retail outlets on the ground floor.
The building has leasable office space of 21,000 square meters and 1,500 square meters of retail space.
CPVDC and Cebu Holdings Inc. (CHI) president Francis Monera said eBloc costs P945 million to develop and is estimated to be finished by September next year.
CPVDC is a subsidiary of Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) and an affiliate of CHI.
Bullish
“We at the Ayala Group are aggressively pursuing the potentials of this industry (business process outsourcing or BPO), which we believe is here to stay,” Monera said.
“The market is very bullish. It’s true that it (BPO) is a sunrise industry, especially in Cebu. eBloc will be the first of the many series of office buildings in Asiatown IT Park,” said Marivic Añonuevo, ALI corporate business group head.
In an interview with reporters, Añonuevo said eBloc has initially three prospective tenants that include a research and development firm, another BPO company, and a new US call center that wants to establish its first branch in the Philippines.
CPVDC is also constructing a food and entertainment facility at the Asiatown IT Park. The facility will house food outlets, coffee shops, and beauty and wellness centers that will operate 24 hours a day, from Monday to Sunday.
These establishments are intended to support the requirements of companies located at Asiatown IT Park, Monera said.
He said the P60-million project will have two floors with 1,800 square meters of total leasable space.
Monera said Asiatown IT Park will see big ticket projects in the coming years as CPVDC is planning to create a BPO enclave for the second phase of the park’s development.
The second development phase of Asiatown IT Park will cover five hectares.
Phase 2
Añonuevo said phase two will see the construction of another BPO building that is estimated to cost P460 million.
“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 for BPOs and IT-related companies,” Monera said.
“Our strategy is to sell some lots, and retain the more strategic ones,” he added.
He cited the strong take-up of commercial lots at the 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.
Asiatown IT Park is a 24-hectare integrated mixed-use business park that was declared an IT special economic zone in 2000 by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority.
In a related development, Añonuevo said ALI will capitalize on the growth of the BPO industry and increase its investments by 50 percent every year. ALI’s future investments in the sector is intended to triple, in the next five years, the amount of space it will be able to lease nationwide.
With the Business Process Outsourcing Association of the Philippines expecting $10 billion in BPO revenues, Añonuevo said ALI will continue to develop more properties in second tier cities like Bacolod, Davao and Cagayan de Oro.
“Depending on the space and the area, it could be another IT park,” she said. (MMM)
