Still the #1 IT location

Eastwood City Cyberpark, property giant Megaworld Corporation’s pioneering integrated development in Libis, Quezon City, and the country’s first information and communications technology (ICT) community, is still the top employer and dollar earner among all the 70 IT special economic zones throughout the country.

The latest data from the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) showed that offshoring and outsourcing (O&O) locator-companies in the Eastwood Cyberpark registered a total of $228.09 million in export revenues in 2007.

This is about 21 percent higher than the $188.5 million in earnings that the Eastwood Cyberpark locators recorded in 2006.

In terms of employment, the Eastwood City-hosted business process outsourcing (BPO) firms provided jobs to an average of 12,515 individuals in 2007. These employees received a total of P4.4 billion in salaries and wages last year, which also boosted the growth of the allied industries like restaurants and other retail shops in the area.

“Megaworld is delighted that our visionary project continues to serve its purpose of becoming a leading catalyst in the development of the country’s BPO sector and is now a major contributor in the Philippine economy,” Megaworld FVP for Business Development Jericho Go said.

Recently, Quezon City Mayor Feliciano “Sonny” Belmonte Jr. cited Eastwood City’s role in making the local government unit the undisputed ICT Capital of the country. This enabled Quezon City to be ranked 7th among the Top 10 Asian Cities of the Future in a survey commissioned by The Financial Times of London.

Belmonte said Eastwood City’s BPO revenues could reach $1 billion in 2010 as Megaworld continues to develop more office spaces in the area to accommodate more BPO companies and house the expansion plans of its growing number of locators.