ALI rolls out P70-B investments for Vermosa mixed-use estate

MANILA, Philippines -  Property powerhouse Ayala Land Inc.(ALI) is unleashing a P70-billion investment spree to develop its first master-planned estate in Cavite.

Called Vermosa, the 700-hectare integrated mixed-use development will become ALI’s fourth largest estate next to the 2,290-hectare Nuvali project in Calamba, Laguna, the 1,100-hectare Alviera in Porac, Pampanga and the 950-hectare Makati Central Business District.

Company officials said the Cavite property was acquired from another real estate firm about two to three years ago.

“Vermosa will once again become for us another large scale, integrated mixed-use sustainable estate where we will be able to feature our diverse product offerings. This is an opportunity for us to bring what we’re good at, which is community building, and to be present again in a fast emerging growth center in the country,” ALI president and chief executive officer Bobby Dy said in a press conference yesterday.

Of the 700-hectare site, ALI intends to develop some 124 hectares to a future central business district that will house various business and commercial establishments as well as institutions such as schools.

About a quarter of the entire development or 165 hectares, meanwhile, is being allotted for open spaces such as parks and gardens.

Dy said about 60 percent  of Vermosa would be composed of horizontal residential developments while commercial and institutional components would each account for 20 percent.

The entire development is set to be completed over the next 12 to 15 years.

Anna Maria Margarita Bautista-Dy, ALI vice president and head of strategic landbank management, said the company intends to spend P23 billion for the first phase of the development over the next five years.

She said the amount would be used for the construction of the initial residential developments.

“This is proof of our faith that the fundamentals of the country remain strong and will remain sound and strong over the long term,” Dy said.

ALI said Vermosa would be highly accessible as it is a major beneficiary of the newly opened Muntinlupa-Cavite Expressway (MCX), the government’s first public-private partnership project bagged by the Ayala conglomerate.

The MCX tollway connects the Daang Hari Road to the South Luzon Expressway and shortens the travel time to Cavite by 30 percent, making Vermosa  just 55 minutes from Makati during peak hours, ALI said.