PEZA okays Megaworld’s P8.2-B IT park in Bonifacio Global City

The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) has approved Megaworld Corp.’s planned information technology park at the 50-hectare McKinley Hill in Bonifacio Global City.

Of the 50-hectare property, 35 hectares have been set aside for the development of the McKinley Hill Cyberpark.

The PEZA approval requires Megaworld to provide basic infrastructure and facilities in the McKinley Hill Cyberpark such as high-speed telecommunications facilities, clean uninterruptible power supply, computer security and building monitoring and maintenance systems and basic utilities.

Locators in PEZA-registered zones can avail of government incentives such as income tax holiday of four years to six years and exemption from payment of duties and other taxes on imported machinery and equipment.

Megaworld has set aside at least P8.2 billion for the development of the cyberpark, which is scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2006.

The project will have a gross floor area of 200,000 square meters and will be undertaken in several phases.

McKinley Hill Cyberpark is geared to meet rising demand for high-tech office space from the business process outsourcing sector (BPO), particularly the call center industry, Megaworld said.

Megaworld will also build retail shops and condominiums in the area, replicating the development in Eastwood City Cyberpark in Libis, Quezon City – the company’s first venture in ecozone development.

Prospective company locators in McKinley Hill Cyberpark include existing clients in Eastwood City Cyberpark that are upbeat on their expansion plans.

McKinley Hill will comprise a residential subdivision, low-rise condominiums and a commercial center. The project is a 50-50 joint venture with the Alliance Global Group Inc.

To take advantage of the huge demand for BPO services, Megawold is building a new cyberbuilding at the Eastwood City, estimated to cost around P3 billion.

To be called 1880 Eastwood Avenue, the building will be developed in two phases with the first one costing P1.2 billion to P1.5 billion. The first phase will have a gross building area of 40,000 square meters and is slated for completion by the first quarter of 2007. The second phase, on the other hand, will occupy 50,000 square meters.

Eastwood City Cyberpark has five office buildings to date. These are Citibank Square, IBM Plaza, Cyber One, TechnoPlaza One and Customer Contact Center or C-Cubed. It is also the location of Epixtar House, the Asia Pacific headquarters of call center company Epixtar.

It also hosts 54,000 square meters of office space for major tenants such as IBM, Citibank’s Asia Pacific Systems and Technology Solutions Development Center, Asia-based call center eTelecare, anti-virus software developer Trend Micro, and animation company TOEI Animation Philippines, to name a few.

Through the combined efforts of the Department of Trade and Industry and key BPO players, the Philippines is poised to capture a bigger share of the global outsourcing market. BPO is the country’s fastest-growing sector and studies show that it will be a multi-billion dollar industry in the next few years.

For this year, Megaworld is looking at a net income of between P717 million and P746 million as against the P574.2-million profit reported in 2004. Growth is expected to come from middle-income projects and rentals of office space by outsourcing companies.

Megaworld had credited call centers for single-handedly raising occupancy rates and rents in office buildings during the last three years.