Pampanga as the country’s next major economic corridor

Pampanga has seen massive growth over the past couple of years, facilitated primarily by various infrastructure projects in the province and nearby areas.

Its key cities and municipalities, including Angeles, San Fernando, Porac and Mabalacat, have cornered property investments from homegrown and national players. This indicates that developers are ready to capture a thriving demand in Pampanga—a demand likely to evolve given the locals’ growing purchasing power and discerning preferences.

As I noted in my previous piece on Pampanga, its take-off as a key business hub outside Metro Manila has partly been constricted by the lack of supporting infrastructure, chief among which is a high-speed train that would connect the country’s capital to key cities and municipalities such as Angeles, Mabalacat and San Fernando.

Realizing the importance of connectivity in stimulating business activities in the area, the national government lined up a number of projects that Colliers believes should play a significant role in transforming Pampanga into the country’s next major economic corridor.

Condominium market gaining traction

The residential landscape in Pampanga is still primarily horizontal (house and lot).

The vertical (condominium) market is still in its infancy but Colliers sees a more aggressive construction of vertical projects over the next three to six years especially within integrated communities that will be developed by national players in the province’s key cities. These residential condominium projects will redefine Pampanga’s property landscape moving forward.

Over the near to medium term, we see Pampanga becoming a major destination for condominium development in the entire Central Luzon region as these residential towers complement the office, retail and industrial projects in the pipeline. Among the property developers that have established presence in Pampanga is Rockwell Land. The company partnered with Juan D. Nepomuceno Realty Group to develop the first Rockwell Center outside Metro Manila which will feature Power Plant Mall Angeles.

Infrastructure to boost demand

Colliers believes that the condominium market in Pampanga will become more vibrant with the completion of infrastructure projects that should spur business activities in the province and hence drive the demand for residential support.

Office market to buoy residential demand

Clark is a major recipient of outsourcing investments outside Manila. Interest in the freeport zone and nearby cities such as San Fernando, Angeles, and Mabalacat has been rising due to skilled workforce, competitive wages and availability of office towers. Among the major locators in the area are Majorel, Alorica, Cloudstaff, Convergys, iQor, Sutherland, TaskUs, TATA Consultancy, Teletech, Stellar, and VXI.

Unlocking land values

Overall, the enhancement of the country’s infrastructure backbone should unlock land values in urban areas outside of the country’s capital including Metro Clark. This should dictate the strategies of local and national developers. And with Metro Clark being a major beneficiary of the government’s “Build, Build, Build” program, we see more developers gravitating towards the region over the medium to long term.

Happy Birthday to my boss, Colliers Philippines managing director Richard Raymundo, who turns ___ on Oct. 24!