Megaworld eyes completion of P10-B Mactan township

About P10 billion will be poured into developing  a 16.2 hectare township called the Mactan Newtown Center, officials of  Megaworld Corp. said yesterday.

“We’ll duplicate what we’ve done in Libis (Quezon City)   and make it even bette here in Cebu, ” said Noli D. Hernandez, first vice president for sales and marketing of Megaworld Corp., in a media briefing  at the Radisson Blu Hotel.

The Mactan township will have  luxury residential condominiums, a cyberpark of modern BPO offices, a boutique hotel, and retail and entertainment centers.

“Simply put, Megaworld intends to bring Eastwood to Mactan,” said the company, referring to its  upscale 17-hectare township in Quezon City, the first IT park in the Philippines.

“Megaworld is not just building high-tech offices exclusively –  it’s transplanting the successful live-work-play-shop concept it popularized in Metro Manila to Cebu.”

The Mactan property located  between Shangri-la Mactan and Portofino resort along the Hilutungan Channel  was bought in 1995 but Megaworld started development only in 2007, a decade after the Asian economic crisis.

Megaworld Corp. is the developer of the  50-hectare McKinley Hill in Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City and the 25-hectare Newport City in Pasay City.

Hernandez said they want to duplicate their success in Eastwood City   in Quezon City.

Virgilio J. Carsido Jr., Megaworld vice president for Visayas operations, said the Mactan Newtown Center will be completed within five years.

Last month they finished  land development and a five-storey BPO-ready building called One World Center.

Megaworld  started  to build the first residential condominium for the first cluster called 8 Newtown Boulevard that will have four residential condominium towers or 716 units to be compeleted in  30 to 36 months.

Hernandez said the first cluster was already  sold out mostly to young Japanese retirees who want  to retire  in Cebu.

“Before we started developing we  already negotiated with them,” Hernandez said.  Another cluster called the One Pacific Residences will also have four towers with 540 units.

Two towers are under negotiation with Japanese retirees and one tower is reserved for local buyers.

Another BPO-ready tower will be built in the property called Two World Center. Construction will start in  July, Carsido said.

Hernandez said they are  confident about  the Cebu market for the residential component and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) centers since the province is a popular tourist destination and haven for outsourcing companies.

“Most outsourcing companies are looking south for their locations and that include Cebu,” Hernandez said.

The  units will  cost  P4 million to P5 million with an average floor area of 40 square meters to 50 square meters sold at P100,000 per square meter.

Cebu Doctors’ University Hospital will also build a wellness facility in the property to cater to the Japanese retirees.

Hernandez said they will also  negotiate with major retail chains for  a shopping center in the property to complete the live-work- play environment Megaworld is known for developing in its projects.

A transport hub or a terminal for public utility vehicles will also be set up, Hernandez added.