CPVDC mulls delaying IT park plans

As clouds of uncertainty continue to hover over next year’s economic outlook, Cebu's largest industrial developer Cebu Property Ventures Development Corporation (CPVDC) mulls postponing the planned expansion plan of the 24-hectare Cebu Asia Town IT Park.

CPVDC president Francis O. Monera said that the change of government leadership in the United States may bring changes to the booming Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry here.

However, as of this time, Monera said inquiries for office spaces are still aplenty, thus, CPVDC has yet to decide whether it will pursue its five-hectare expansion plan that will be called "BPO Enclave" supposedly to kick off next year.

Last year, CPVDC unveiled its P900 thousand, first medium rise building for BPO, called the e-Bloc situated in a 4,432 square meter area at the first phase of the IT park.

The 12-story mid-rise office condominium, e-Bloc, offers a total of 21,000 square meters of leasable spaces and 1,5000 square-meter or retail leasable space that will be made available for IT and IT-enabled firms, as well as retail outlets which will cater to this sector.

Supposedly, the horizontal development of the Asia Town IT Park-Phase 2 projects will start next year, along with the establishment of the second mid-rise office condominium within the phase 2. But Monera said CPVDC is "still calibrating the market, as of this time."

"We are still monitoring how the market will evolve. If things move towards favorable development next year, there is a good reason not to delay the plan," said Monera adding that the Phase 2 detailed planned has been in placed already.

CPVDC, a subsidiary of Cebu Holdings Inc. (CHI), reported a 49 percent increase of its revenue last year, to P371 million, compared to P250 million it earned in 2006. The company hit the P172 million net income it incurred in 2007, an impressive 107 percent higher from 2006's net income of P83.5 million.

Monera said it's still too premature to say that CPVDC will have to re-schedule its planned expansion for next year, because everybody is still in the "wait and see" attitude, closely monitoring the uncertain economic plight in the global scene.

Generally, he said Cebu has not yet been feeling the effect of the global economic crisis, demand for BPO offices still in an encouraging pace, although he joined the industry's fears that next year the Philippines will experience a growth slowdown in the BPO sector.

For sure, he said the BPO sector in the Philippines will still expect growth, but not as great compared to the past few years.

As of this time though, the company is not experiencing postponement of tenant occupancy at the e-Bloc, he said.