Megaworld set to launch 5 new townships this year

MANILA, Philippines - Upscale property developer Megaworld Corp. is expanding its township portfolio across the country this year as it plans to launch five new townships with a total land area of 400 hectares.

Megaworld said it would be introducing through its subsidiaries Suntrust Properties Inc., Empire East Land Holdings Inc. and Global-Estate Resorts Inc. two new townships in Luzon, two in the Visayas and one in Mindanao within the year.

The upcoming projects will bring Megaworld’s townships in the country to 20 by yearend with a total land area of 3,100 hectares.

“With our adequate landbank and landholdings, the Megaworld Group is growing its townships to even more cities all over the Philippines. This means more exciting destinations, more homes to be built, more office buildings to be offered and more jobs for Filipinos,” Megaworld chairman and chief executive officer Andrew L. Tan said.

Last year, the property giant also introduced five townships in its portfolio covering almost 1,000 hectares of land.

The townships launched last year are Woodside City in Pasig City (12.3 hectares); Southwoods City in the boundaries of Cavite and Laguna (561 hectares); Davao Park District in Lanang, Davao City (11 hectares), Alabang West in Las Piñas City (62 hectares); and Suntrust Ecotown in Tanza, Cavite (350 hectares).

“Our vision is to build more world-class townships in every major city in the Philippines year after year,” Tan said.

Megaworld currently has 15 townships in its portfolio which includes the 18-hectare Eastwood City in Quezon City, the country’s first cyberpark, and the 25-hectare Newport City in Pasay City, home of Resorts World Manila.

It also developed the 50-hectare McKinley Hill; 34.5-hectare McKinley West; 15.4-hectare Uptown Bonifacio; and five-hectare Forbes Town Center in Fort Bonifacio, as well as the 28.8-hectare Mactan Newtown in Cebu; 72-hectare Iloilo Business Park in Iloilo City; 150-hectare Boracay Newcoast in Boracay Island; and 1,300-hectare Twin Lakes in Tagaytay.

Aside from its completed and ongoing township projects, Tan said Megaworld still has more land to develop in its portfolio in the coming years.

“Our various groups are working hard to come up with unique concepts and ideas on how we will create more sustainable communities across the country,” Tan said.

Megaworld said the entire group has around 4,000 hectares of land in its portfolio to date, in which around 80 percent have been dedicated for live-work-play townships or mixed-use communities.