MANILA, Philippines — Aboitiz InfraCapital (AIC) is pouring in P4 billion for the 40-hectare expansion of its Biz Hub in its industrial estate in Batangas to meet the growing needs for spaces by investors.
The expansion will be done in four phases with its full development being eyed to be completed by 2027, said Jolan Formaleo, vice president for inventory generation at LIMA Land Inc.
Once completed, the Biz Hub in LIMA Estate in Malvar, Batangas would become a 70-hectare mixed use space composed of commercial, retail and residential tenants.
The first phase of the expansion covers 15 hectares of development and includes the construction of the critical spine road network system. It is targeted to be completed by April 2026.
The remaining 25 hectares would be developed across the three phases: 15 hectares in the second phase, six hectares in the third and four hectares in the fourth and final phase.
Some of the prospective investors and locators in the Biz Hub expansion would be those from the creative industries, healthcare, business process outsourcing, residential and commercial users, said Clifford Academia, vice president for operations of LIMA Land.
“We want to make it a place where it is easy for locators to set-up businesses and make it easy for their workers to live,” Cosette Canilao, president and CEO of AIC, said in a press briefing after the capsule laying ceremony for the Biz Hub expansion yesterday.
The current 30-hectare space of the Biz Hub, which houses the Outlets at Lipa, is already 80 percent occupied, with officials targeting full occupancy by end of the year.
Rafael Fernandez de Mesa, LIMA Land Inc. president and head of AIC Economic Estates, said the expansion of the Biz Hub “solidifies” the stature of LIMA Estate as one of the leading economic zones in the Philippines and a “formidable” benchmark in Asia.
De Mesa noted that employment in LIMA Estate has grown to 71,000 today from 22,000 while the number of companies has expanded to 120 from 50, with 60 more companies under construction.
The 826-hectare LIMA Estate is considered to be the largest privately owned industrial park in the Philippines with 177 locators, 167 retail stores and restaurants, a 136-room four-star hotel, a transportation hub and over 4,000 households.
The economic zone has already attracted P158 billion in investments, Canilao said.