Eton building BPO-ready office towers

MANILA, Philippines - Eton Properties, the real estate unit of the Lucio Tan Group, is building more office buildings to meet the growing demand in the BPO-IT industry.

 Marie Angeli Samala, Eton Properties’ first vice president for property management, said the company would be building an additional 200,000 square meters of office space.

 “Eton has already completed four career hubs and more are planned this year until 2018 to meet the expected increase in demand. It is now helping to address future requirements for office spaces generated by expansion programs of the industry by an additional 200,000 sqm.,” Samala said.

So far, Eton Properties has completed more than 124,000 square meters of projects in the central business districts of Quezon City and Ortigas dedicated to BPO-IT buildings, which are all fully occupied.

 The company’s projects in strategic locations have provided career hubs for over 12,000 employees, Filipinos and expats alike, Eton Properties said.

 Major tenants include EGS, Hewlett-Packard, Accenture, Convergys, Sitel, Cybersoft, Standard Chartered Bank, and Unisys now have services stationed in Eton Properties’ business hubs.

Part of Eton Properties’ expansion program is a BPO and technology campus within its 1,000-hectare Eton City township in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

Eton Properties hopes to become a major tech hub similar to Silicon Valley in California and Bangalore, India.

 The premier campus will offer 190,000 sqm. of office lots, green-themed roads, retail strips, and a dormitory, with a transportation annex for shuttles and buses bringing commuters to and from different parts of Laguna and Metro Manila.

 The country’s BPO-IT industry is expected to get a boost from the ongoing Asean integration.

 Experts predict that with the Asean integration, the Philippines is on track to hit the cumulative goal of having over 1.2 million people gainfully employed in the BPO-IT sector by 2016.