Megaworld allots P1.5B for initial development of Mactan mixed-use complex

Megaworld Corp., an upscale property development firm owned by tycoon Andrew Tan, is shelling out P1.5 billion for the initial development of an integrated community project in Mactan, Cebu.  

Megaworld senior vice-president and executive director Kingson Sian said the project will feature all the company’s business lines which include office buildings, retail, residential and hotel developments.  

Sian said the company is still in the process of finalizing a masterplan for the project.  

He said the company is scouting for a property bigger than the one in Mactan, Cebu which can be developed into a large-scale tourism project in the next two years.  

According to Sian, Megaworld has a landbank of 100 hectares located in key growth centers in Metro Manila.  It recently acquired the 54-hectare old Iloilo airport for P1.2 billion.  

Megaworld currently has six large-scale projects: the Eastwood City in Libis, Quezon City; Forbes Town Center in Makati; Mckinley Hill in Taguig Newport City in Pasay City; Manhattan Garden City at Araneta Center in Quezon City and Cityplace in Manila’s Chinatown.   

In Eastwood City, the company has built 17 high-rise residential buildings, and expects to have more than 200,000 square meters of BPO office space and retail space of 65,000 sqm in 2008.  

From a total of 60 companies last year, Megaworld expects locators to rise to 100 in Eastwood by 2010.  

Megaworld expects investments poured in by business process outsourcing (BPO) firms to jump to P21 billion in 2010 from only P9.1 billion.  The company alone expects total investments in Eastwood City to rise to P12 billion from P6.7 billion.  

For Mckinley Hills, Megaworld will build a total 9,140 condominium units with 200,000 sqm of office space and 78,500 sqm of retail space.  

The New Port project, on the other hand, will comprise the development of 16 residential clusters consisting of 2,500 units, 200,000 sqm of BPO office, 47,000 sqm of leisure and entertainment and a five-star Marriot Hotel.  

Forbes Town, meanwhile, will have 13 residential towers comprising 4,000 units while Manhattan Garden City will entail the development of 20 residential towers consisting of 9,000 units.  

Cityplace, on the other hand, is a mixed-use development with 2,000 residential units, a retail center, BPO offices and a hotel.    

With all these projects in place, Megaworld is looking at a  net income of P2.88 billion this year or an increase of 41 percent from the previous year’s P2.04 billion.  Revenues are likewise seen to go up 42 percent to P13.33 billion from only P9.37 billion.  

Sian said the company expects reservation sales to reach P29.2 billion this year from P22.18 billion in 2006.    

The company hopes to register real estate revenues of P11.05 billion versus P7.21 billion a year ago. Rental income is seen to grow 35.2 percent to P956.29 million from P707.32 million.  

Hotel operations are likewise seen to improve 8.9 percent to  P254.06 million from P233.34 million in 2006.