Megaworld continues expansion in Iloilo

Tycoon Andrew Tan-led Megaworld Corp. is cementing its position as the leading office landlord in Iloilo City with the launch of two new office towers in its 72-hectare Iloilo Business Park in Mandurriao.

The property developer is launching two 12-story office towers—Enterprise One and Enterprise Two—which will create about 78,000 square meters of additional office space once they are completed by 2022.

“The demand for office space in Iloilo Business Park has been steadily growing the past years. Most of the companies that want to set up operations in Iloilo prefer the township concept that we offer because it helps ensure convenience and comfort necessary for the retention of their employees,” Roland Tiongson, first vice president at Megaworld Premier Offices, said in a statement.

“By 2022, we expect our office stocks to reach about 175,000 square meters, the biggest for a single developer in Iloilo City. These office towers are able to generate about 62,000 jobs in the BPO (business process outsourcing) sector,” he added.

Both Enterprise One and Enterprise Two, both feature modern architecture design, will seek Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.

Megaworld has almost 65,000 square meters of office space in eight buildings that are fully operational in the city. These are One Global Center, Two Global Center, Richmonde Tower, One Techno Place, Two Techno Place, Three Techno Place and Festive Walk Office 1 and 2. All these are now fully leased out.

Another 35,000 square meters of additional inventory will be completed by next year. These are One Fintech Place A, One Fintech Place B and Two Fintech Place.

Among the first-time locators in Iloilo City that have set up operations in Iloilo Business Park include StarTek, iQor, Reed Elsevier, WNS, Nearsol, and Connectsys. Companies like Transcom and HGS have also expanded their existing Iloilo operations in the township.

According to property consulting firm Colliers, Iloilo City offices continue to attract major occupants such as call centers and legal transcription service providers. It believes that offices in the city would remain attractive among tenants looking for Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza)-registered office.

Overall, Colliers sees Iloilo’s leasable office supply increasing to 242,900 square meters by 2021 or an addition of about 44,500 square meters of office space per year from 2019 to 2021. All of the upcoming supply is likely to be in Mandurriao as developers cash in on the area’s viability as a key outsourcing destination in Western Visayas.

Over the next three years, Colliers sees more nonoutsourcing firms such as insurance companies, law firms, and manpower agencies occupying office space in the Mandurriao area. INQ