Megaworld earmarks P7B for mixed-use proj near NAIA-3

Upscale developer Megaworld Corp. is setting aside P7 billion over the next three to four years for the development of the first phase of Newport City, a mixed-use project near the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3.

A joint venture with the Bases Conversion Development Authority, Newport City is envisioned as the home of the metro’s first and only paradise resort residences. It is also expected to be at par with top hotel and golf resorts in Asia.

Megaworld investor relations officer John Hao said the first phase involves the construction of the 350-room Marriott Hotel, a nature-centered residential area and a commercial-and-sport complex.

The hotel, to be managed by Marriott Hotels International B.V., is slated for completion in 2008. It is the first Marriott Hotel in Metro Manila and the second in the country after Cebu.

Hao said most of the capital expenditures for the project will be financed with internally-generated funds.

The company has already started pre-selling its residential units with prices ranging from P1.9 milllion to P3.2 million.

The second phase includes the development of a business park and a themed shopping and entertainment hub.

Megaworld expects to generate P150 million in recurring income a year from the airport hotel and retail and commercial operations.

Megaworld said its valuation of the property is actually lower than the government’s earlier assessment.

Megaworld focuses on the middle to high-end residential and office markets. It also has 43 percent owned subsidiary Empire East that caters to the lower to middle income market segment.

The company’s flagship development is Eastwood City, a 16-hectare cyberpark and mixed-use project. It is host to nearly one in every four business process outsourcing firms in the country like the call center operations of IBM and Citibank N.A.

Megaworld expects strong growth in the Philippine real estate sector this year as it aims to sustain the 30 percent net profit growth in the past two years.

The property developer had credited call centers for raising occupancy rates and rents in office buildings in Manila during the last three years.

Another major project is the 52-hectare residential enclave dubbed Mckinley Hill in Bonifacio Global City, which is expected to generate P16 billion in lot sales and P450 million in lease earnings every year.

Megaworld will spend around P8 billion over 10 years to fully develop McKinley Hill, a joint development with the government. The government owns the property, which used to be a part of a sprawling army camp near the financial district of Makati.