Tycoon Andrew Tan-led property developer Megaworld Corp. has set aside a larger amount of P36 billion for capital outlays this year to fund “targeted” projects comprising mostly of residential developments.This budget marks a 29-percent increase from the actual capital expenditure (capex) last year.
The company seeks to realign project developments with the restrictions brought about by the strict quarantine measures affecting construction activities as well as demand for residential properties especially in Metro Manila.
Around 76 percent of the budget will be for real estate developments, particularly the construction of new residential properties. The remaining 24 percent will be for investment properties. No amount has been allocated for new landbanking initiatives.
“We remain cautious and prudent with our spending as we are still observing how the vaccination program will progress and where this pandemic will be leading us in the next few months. This is a very targeted capex program aimed at optimizing the use of our available cash during this time,” Kevin Tan, Megaworld chief strategy officer, said in a press statement on Thursday.
This year, Megaworld will bring to the property market four residential projects, particularly in its key provincial townships at Maple Grove in Cavite, Capital Town in Pampanga, Iloilo Business Park in Iloilo City and The Upper East in Bacolod City.
These new residential projects are expected to generate around P8.3 billion in sales.
Within this year, Megaworld is also turning over almost 4,000 units and lots from its completed residential developments across the country with a total value of around P60 billion. The residential units slated for turnover are in Uptown Bonifacio, McKinley Hill, McKinley West, Eastwood City, Westside City, Capital Town Pampanga, Iloilo Business Park and Makati City. “We look forward to eased restrictions by the second half of the year. It’s still wait and see as of this time, but we are optimistic that the domestic economy will bounce back fast once all of these strict quarantine measures are lifted,” said Tan. —Doris Dumlao-Abadilla