– P25 billion plus invested in property development
– Thousands of professionals and skilled workers employed
– City government does its share with multi-billion development projects
INVESTMENTS in the billion of pesos continue to pour into the Davao region to develop real property, seemingly oblivious to the raging world economic turmoil.
Big developers
Many of the Philippines’ premiere developers are now in the region pursuing some of the biggest projects ever seen in this part of the country. Most of the projects are in Davao City and the other cities around the Davao Gulf — the Island Garden City of Samal, Panabo and Tagum, the latter three in Davao del Norte, the most progressive of the four Davao provinces.
The big developers, a number of whose projects have been completed and now enjoying brisk sales or are sold out, in alphabetical order, are Ayala Land, Camella Communities, DMCI, Filinvest, Landco, Metro Pacific, Robinsons, SM Investments and Santa Lucia Realty.
Local capitalists
The local investors, made up chiefly of the landed gentry, the nouveau riche, the homegrown developers and grizzled businessmen who have made a fortune in various other businesses, are very much in the fray — either in joint ventures with sleek out-of-towners or on their own using internally-generated resources or borrowed funds.
The locals who have joined the big league – a few of them known for their conservative style of doing business in the past – are the Alcantaras (Northcrest, Woodridge, Fernwood), Damosa Land of the Floirendos (Abreeza, Damosa Gateway, Playa Azalea), the Bangayans (Ocean View and Linmarr Towers), the Tagum Doctors Hospital group (Samal Highlands), the Dizons (Riverfront Corporate City, Crocodile Farm), the Gaisanos, the Lims (NCCC Group), the Yaps (Felcris, Chimes and Convenience Stores), the Uys (Dimdi Group), the children of Kisan Lu (Amiya Resort Residences), Devin Uraya (Urayaland), Henry Lopez Chua (Chula Vista) and the Villa-Abrille heirs.
The projects
The property developers are into building malls, medium rise condominiums, high-end subdivisions, residential resorts, beach resorts, contact centers and other buildings for business process outsourcing centers and hotels. One, Samal Highlands, is developing a 50-hectare property into an island resort with a medical tower, beachfront hotel, and extreme sports facilities, preserving the existing mangroves and mango orchards. Holiday Oceanview Samal of the Bangayans is described as “village, town villas, resort, island spa, marina.”
Easily, all the properties being developed in the Davao area are worth more than P25 billion according to estimates of local business writers who have extensively covered this beat.
According to Carmelito Q. Francisco, managing and business editor of the Mindanao Times who also writes for Business World, thousands of engineers, architects and skilled construction workers have been absorbed by this vibrant sector through direct employment and involvement in secondary businesses.
Why invest in Davao?
“Out-of-town investors are also impressed by the ideal business climate in Davao City and neighboring cities,” said writer Prix Banzon, who has devoted the last five years covering the business beat.
Jerry Navarrete, president of one of the residential and commercial companies of the group of Manny Villar, confirmed Ms. Banzon’s report.
Aside from being one of the most dynamic cities in the Philippines, Navarrete said it is so easy to establish a real estate venture in Davao.
“Bureacratic red tape is non-existent, the rules are clear in the city,” Navarrete said who takes pride in the fact that the Villar group (Camella Communities) is a pioneer in vertical (condominiums) development. Camella is currently building Northpoint, a cluster of condomiums near the Dakudao-Buhangin flyover north of the city hall.
Tristan las Marias, Filinvest vice president for Visayas and Mindanao operations, told a media forum earlier here that his company is into several property projects to “provide prospective buyers a wide array of choices when the economy gets better.”
Aside from Filinvest’s seven low and high-end projects in the region, Las Marias said the company is embarking on two new projects to take shape before the year ends.
He also bared that Filinvest’s One Oasis, a seven-building condominium project beside SM City Davao is “enjoying brisk sales.”
Agatha Ellen S. Valencia, Davao chapter president of the United Architects of the Philippines, said the local property market has remained in good shape, despite the fact that overseas Filipino workers have slowed down in their buying due to retrenchments in their ranks.
Meanwhile, Henry L. Yap, Robinsons Land Corp. vice president for design and planning, told business reporters during the opening of Robinsons Cybergate, a P350-million mixed-use facility in Bajada last month, the company is still looking for more areas in the city and nearby localities to develop.
The quality of manpower needed by new business locators has been identified as a plus factor for Davao City, according to Lizabel “Wit” Holganza, president of ICT Davao, Inc.
City does its share
Local government units (LGUs) are also doing their share in making their localities more investor-friendly.
The city government of Davao, for instance, is currently pursuing the following multi-million-peso projects to improve vital services to its constituents, including business establishments:
Sanitary Landfill Project P265M Urban Drainage and Flood Control Project P250M Traffic Signalization Project P266M Shelter and Urban Land Reform Project P100M
