Megaworld ramps up investment in Iloilo property

ILOILO CITY—Giant property developer Megaworld Corp. has expanded its investments in Iloilo even before the completion of its P25-billion Iloilo Business Park to keep up with growing demand.

Officials of the company announced over the weekend that its investment in its 54-hectare property in Mandurriao, the site of the former Iloilo airport, has been extended by another 18 hectares for a total of 72 hectares.

Jericho Go, Megaworld’s first vice president, said the expansion was prompted by the “strong reception” to its first condominium tower, One Madison Place, at the Iloilo Business Park.

“In a matter of days, it was fully sold,” Go told the Inquirer.

Harold Geronimo, Megaworld director for strategic marketing and communications, said the 10-story building with about 160 units was 85 percent sold out as selling started during the Holy Week last month.

Half of the units were sold in three days, he said. The units ranging from 25 to 75 square meters in area, are priced from P1.9 million to P5 million per unit.

“This is positively unusual for Iloilo where, unlike Manila, condo living is not that yet widely accepted,” Go said.

Go said the master plan for the 18-hectare area extension was being finalized but would complement the 54-hectare original project.

“We want to tell our patrons that there is more coming from Megaworld Corp. in Iloilo Business Park,” he said.

He said the “phenomenal” demand for condominium units in Iloilo showed that “Ilonggos have realized that (condominium living) is the future.”

The Iloilo Business Park is Megaworld’s biggest single investment outside of Metro Manila and the biggest township in the Visayas, according to the company.

The park will host an initial two business process outsourcing (BPO) buildings with a total area of 10,000 square meters. The buildings will be completed by the first half of next year.

The four-story Megaworld Center Mall will also be constructed and will be linked to a three-story mall annex. The mall will have a leasable area of 27,801 sq m.

The 12-story Richmonde Hotel and the Marriott Courtyard Hotel will be among the hotels that will open in the park.

The park will also have the Festive Walk, a 1.1-kilometer strolling area lined with shops.

Megaworld is also building a 1.8-km and six-lane boulevard connecting  Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. Avenue and  Mandurriao’s Molo road.

The P450-million Iloilo Convention Center, which was launched late last year, is expected to be completed in 2014.

The state-of-the-art convention center, will be constructed based on a design inspired by Iloilo’s Dinagyang and Paraw festivals and will have a total floor area of 6,400 square meters.

The two-story structure will have a main hall in the ground floor that can seat 3,700 and additional 500-seater function rooms in the second floor, said architect William Coscoluella. It is also designed to cater to world-class cuisine requirements.

The investment is expected to boost employment in Western Visayas.

Go said that BPOs alone were expected to employ 1,000 employees at the start of next year and up to 7,000 by the end of 2014.

Megaworld has invested significantly in Iloilo showing its optimism in Western Visayas as a fast-growing region.

The company has invested at least P1.5 billion in its Sta. Barbara Heights project, a mixed-use property located in a 164-hectare area in Barangay Inangayan in Sta. Barbara, around 16 km northwest of Iloilo City.

“We’ve seen how Iloilo has expanded and with the opening of international flights, we see its potential as a tourist area and the flourishing of the BPO industry,” Geronimo said in an earlier interview.