PPC commercial center gives spark to Minglanilla economy

CEBU, Philippines – Primary Properties Corporation (PPC) in partnership with the municipality of Minglanilla, Cebu started the development of the three-hectare mixed-use development with the opening of Spark Commercial Center.

The two-storey commercial center is positioned as the major tourism stop and destination in southern part of Cebu, hosting the micro entrepreneur tenants that sell products that are of tourists' interest, as well as those OTOP (One-town-one-product) identified items.

PPC president and chief executive officer William Christopher "Wally" Liu said the opening of Spark Commercial Center adjacent to the town's public market is seen to spur economic activity in Minglanilla providing a venue for small or startup vendors or farmers, selling their own produce like crops, vegetables, fruits, as well as those vendors of local snack favorites, and souvenirs.

In coordination with the Cebu Provincial government, the center will be part of  "Suroy-Suroy Sugbo" stops for south bound tours.

Aside from hosting the micro entrepreneurs to expose their products to local and tourism markets, Liu said part of the company's plan is to make the center as incubation facility giving its tenants different capacity building programs, such as packaging seminars, among others.

It will also house satellite offices of government agencies, like Philhealth, Social Security System, National Bureau of Investigation, Land Transportation Office, GSIS, among others.

The center targets to offer all the OTOP identified products in the 56 municipalities within the Cebu province.

The project is the first major Private-Public Partnership (PPP) venture of PPC, which Liu described as part of company's contribution to Minglanilla's economic growth.

The master plan of the entire three-hectare mixed-use development is still being studied, PPP may build a medical facility building, a medium rise commercial building that may host outsourcing investments.

The facility, which is designed by industrial designer Kenneth Cobonpue, is the first of few buildings that will be constructed within the area in the next five years.

In 2014, PPC opened its first industrial zone development, the 36-hectare Naga Valley Industrial Park (NAVA) in Barangay Cantao-an in the City of Naga, Cebu, that  is expected to employ at most 30 thousand people. (FREEMAN)