Megaworld allots P1B for Makati condo proj

Upscale property developer Megaworld Corp. will invest P1 billion in the development of a 35-storey residential condominium building in Makati City.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Megaworld said the Greenbelt Chancellor project will be its first pre-furnished condominium in the Greenbelt area. This, however, is Megaworld’s third project in Greenbelt after the Greenbelt Parkplace and Greenbelt Radissons.

The P1 billion investment, it said, will cover the construction and furnishing of the condominium units.

Unit prices will range from P3 million to P13.4 million, Megaworld said.

Greenbelt Chancellor’s target market includes entrepreneurs, foreign-based Filipino professionals, overseas Filipino workers and doctors due to its proximity to the Makati Medical Center.

“Megaworld is taking the idea of convenience to a higher level by making the units pre-furnished. All the buyers and future residents need to do is move in and they will find all their desired appliances and furniture already ideally set up,” the company said.

The company is eyeing a net income of P2.9 billion this year or an increase of 42 percent from the previous year’s P2.04 billion, mainly coming from residential sales worth P15 billion.

Megaworld has launched several phases in existing developments, spurred by strong demand for residential projects. Among these include Phase 2 of McKinley Hills which is now 70 percent sold, Manhattan Gardens Tower 2 and Bellagio 4.

Megaworld is targeting to build at least 500,000 square meters of office space in the next five years as it seeks to address the tight supply of premium space for the burgeoning business process outsourcing (BPO) sector. The company hopes to complete about 200,000 to 250,000 sqm. of office space—almost 50 percent of its target—in 2007 and 2008 alone.

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. of office space by yearend, 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.

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.