Megaworld is investing P35-billion in the next 10 years to build two townships in Negros Occidental, that are expected to generate 250,000 jobs, Jericho Go, Megaworld senior vice president, announced at a press conference at L’Fisher Hotel in Bacolod City yesterday.
It will be the biggest real estate investment in Negros Occidental, said Go, who described Megaworld as the country’s leading developer of integrated urban townships and the biggest office developer and landlord.
Harold Geronimo, Megaworld public relations and communications head, said Megaworld is investing in Bacolod because it is a rising booming city in the Philippines and this is the right time for Megaworld to come in.

Go said the first township, to be called The Upper East, is located on a 34-hectare property that used to be the Bacolod-Murcia Milling Co. on the eastern side of Bacolod City.

The property purchased from the Araneta family of Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas, is bounded by Burgos Avenue on the north, Lopez Jaena Street on the west and Circumferential Road on the east and is just across the Bacolod Government Center.
Inspired by New York City’s affluent Upper East Side district, The Upper East will be Bacolod’s own version of an upscale lifestyle district where residential condominiums, malls and commercial centers, BPO office towers, tourism and leisure facilities as well as recreational parks and open spaces are integrated to create an exciting live-work-play township, which Megaworld pioneered in the Philippines, he added.
“The people of Bacolod and Negros will be able to experience what we have offered in Eastwood City, Newport City and McKinley Hill. We are very excited to bring our pioneering live-work-play concept to the City of Smiles. We will build The Upper East with a vision of making it as Bacolod’s new central business district or CBD,” Go said.

NORTHHILL
He also said that in the northern part of Bacolod, where the Circumferential Road (now known as the Bacolod-Silay Airport Access Road) was built, the second township will soon rise and will be called Northhill.

It is located on a 50-hectare property at the boundary of Talisay City and Bacolod City that has direct access to the new Bacolod-Silay Airport, he noted.

A joint development of Megaworld and its wholly owned subsidiary Suntrust Properties Inc. in partnership with the Lacson family, Northhill will rise in an area that has a direct link to The Upper East via the Circumferential Road, Go said.

It is envisioned to be a refreshing lifestyle district that will house upscale residential villages, mixed-use offices and retail developments, leisure and recreational amenities as well as institutional facilities, he said
"Just as what we have done with our other developments, we will transform the sugarcane fields into a bustling new district. Within five to ten years, we envision this area to be the most sought-after business and lifestyle address for Negrenses,” he added.

250,000 JOBS

Once completed, the two integrated urban townships will generate around 250,000 direct and indirect jobs in BPO, construction, transportation, commercial and retail businesses, he said.

Go said they expect the masterplan for the two townships to be completed in 2015 to enable them to have a clear direction in preparation for the start of actual construction. There is a market demand, so we are raising against time, he said.

Meanwhile, their engineers are already surveying the properties for land development work, such as roads and sewages, Go said.

He said they have done their research and spoken to their other partners who have expressed keen interest in their two Bacolod projects, he said.

The Megaworldresidential condominiums, aside from catering to the local market, will also draw investors from other parts of the country and abroad, he said.

Megaworld developments have attracted a lot of foreigners to live and work in the Philippines, Go explained.

Go said Megaworld’s investing in Bacolod has been a long time coming, “We had to wait for the right time to make sure that we had a presence in the central booming commercial area of the city.

“It’s the right time, we’ve seen a lot of interests from foreign companies to come in,” he said.

REVERSE BRAIN DRAIN

The opening of BPO firms in their townships will create job employment for highly skilled highly paid workers who have left Bacolod for jobs elsewhere, Go said.

Those working in Manila, Singapore, Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia will now havethe opportunity to come back and live in Bacolod with their families, he said.

“It will be a reverse brain drain, let’s bring them back home,” Go said.

Geronimo said the Megaworld townships will change the lifestyle of Negrenses, the BPO firms in the townships will be in operation 24-7 creating a city within a city that will never sleep, he said.

Asked if the money they paid for the BMMC property would help bankroll the presidential bid of Mar Roxas, Go said “We don’t comment on political issues, we remain apolitical.” He also refused to say how much they paid the Aranetas for the property, saying it is their company’s policy not to reveal acquisition costs.

EXPANDING PORTFOLIO

The Upper East and Northhill are just two of the five township developments that Megaworld is launching this year, Go said.

Go pointed out that recently, Megaworld announced that it is aggressively expanding its township portfolio across the country from 15 to 20 with a total township land area of 3,100 hectares by the end of the year.
Last year, the company introduced five townships in its portfolio covering almost 1,000 hectares of land. These include Woodside City in Pasig City (12.3 hectares); Southwoods City in the boundaries of Cavite and Laguna (561 hectares); Davao Park District in Lanang, Davao City (11 hectares); Alabang West in Las Piñas City (62 hectares) and Suntrust Ecotown in Tanza, Cavite (350 hectares), he said.

Other townships include Eastwood City in Quezon City, (18.5 hectares), which holds the distinction of being the country’s first cyberpark; Newport City in Pasay City (25 hectares), which is the home of Resorts World Manila; McKinley Hill (50 hectares), McKinley West (34.5 hectares), Uptown Bonifacio (15.4 hectares) and Forbes Town Center (5 hectares), all in Fort Bonifacio; The Mactan Newtown in Cebu (28.8 hectares); Iloilo Business Park in Mandurriao, Iloilo City (72 hectares); Boracay Newcoast in Boracay Island (150 hectares) and Twin Lakes in Tagaytay (1,300 hectares) of Global-Estate Resorts, Inc. (GERI), a subsidiary of Megaworld, Go said.*CPG

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