Megaworld to add .5-M sqm office space over next 5 years

Megaworld Corp. is set to build at least 500,000 square meters of office space over the next five years as it seeks to address the tight supply of premium space for the rapidly expanding business process outsourcing (BPO) sector.

"We are looking to complete about 200,000 to 250,000 square meters of office space — almost 50 percent of our target — in 2007 and 2008 alone," said Jericho Go, Megaworld’s first vice-president for business development and leasing.

The Eastwood City CyberPark in Quezon City, the country’s first information technology (IT) park accredited by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, remains Megaworld’s foremost supplier of office space. It is home to over 60 firms — half of which belong to the BPO and IT-enabled services sector — and a 15,000-strong workforce.

Megaworld currently has five new high-tech office projects at Eastwood, namely the E-Commerce Plaza which shall make available about 20,000 sqm. office space by yearend, and the second phase of 1880 Eastwood Avenue which will offer some 35,000 sqm. of leasable space and is slated for completion by the second quarter of 2008.

Megaworld said 1800 Eastwood Avenue hosts high-profile firms such as Dell Philippines and IBM Business Services. Global One Center, with a floor area of about 35,000 sqm., will be finished by the second half of 2008.

TechnoPlaza 2, on the other hand, will add more than 38,000 sqm. to the CyberPark’s inventory by the second half of 2009.

In addition, the International Finance Center, with close to 24,000 sqm. of office space, will welcome tenants by the last quarter of 2010.

"The development of BPO office space is a critical component of our business. We are focused on building not just stand-alone office developments but office projects that are part of self-contained communities," Go said.

Megaworld is also building up its BPO office inventory in two strategic destinations in Metro Manila. At the McKinley Hill CyberPark in Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City, the 11-story, 30,000 sqm. One World Square is set for completion by the second quarter of this year.

Meanwhile, Newport Corporate Plaza One, the first office project at Newport City in Pasay City, will be finished by the first quarter of 2008. The eight-story building hosts 20,000 sqm. of leasable BPO office space.

The developer’s Cityplace project, the largest development in Manila in the last 25 years, will also host a BPO building to cater to companies in Binondo and the nearby areas.

Megaworld is a pioneer in BPO office space development. Since 1996, it has built more than 325,000 sqm. of office space.

The company has allotted $1.2 billion over the next five years for the development of BPO office buildings and new township projects aimed at further boosting growth and earnings potential and increasing shareholders’ value.

With the return of investor sentiment in the resurgent property sector, Megaworld chairman and president Andrew Tan said the company is prepared to spent at least P6 billion to P7 billion annually in the next years for all its projects.