MANILA, Philippines, September 16, 2014 – Megaworld, the country’s leading real estate developer, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Suntrust Properties, Inc., is venturing into industrial park development that has its pioneering “LIVE-WORK-PLAY” lifestyle township concept.

Sitting on a 200-hectare land in Tanza, Cavite, the Suntrust Ecotown will be Megaworld’s first mixed-use development with an industrial park in the country. It is also positioned to be the major hub for world-class light to medium export-oriented industries, residential, commercial, and institutional establishments in the south.

“Megaworld’s entry into industrial park development leads us to an innovative blueprint that will entice more foreign locators to invest in the Philippines. Suntrust Ecotown is design to respond to the needs of dynamic export-oriented industries and to exceed their expectations by offering lifestyle amenities never seen before in any industrial park,” says Kevin L. Tan, chief strategy officer, Megaworld.

Suntrust is allocating P5-billion to develop the initial 200-hectare industrial park within 8 years. Its initial offering of 107 available industrial lots will cater to export-oriented industries such as electronics, home appliances, computer parts, car assemblies, fabric and textile goods, food products, pharmaceuticals, machineries, chemicals, and other industrial products.

“Suntrust Ecotown is a breakthrough industrial park because this is the country’s first integrated industrial park accredited by PEZA (Philippine Economic Zone Authority) with lifestyle amenities. We are looking into further expanding the development to 350 hectares in the near future,” says Atty. Harrisson M. Paltongan, president, Suntrust Properties, Inc.

Out of the initial 200 hectares, the 111 hectares will be allotted for the industrial park. Another 40 hectares is dedicated for the expansion of the industrial park and the integration of lifestyle amenities such as a hotel, commercial and retail hubs, driving range, mini golf course, putting greens, swimming pool, jogging path, basketball and badminton courts, and open parks, and another 50 hectares of future development that may include residential and other recreational facilities.

The industrial park will also feature community offerings such as PEZA and Bureau of Customs offices where tenant-locators can fast-track their business permit requirements, as well as its own administration office, fire station, chapel, parking for container vans, guardhouse, and transport terminal.

As a PEZA accredited economic zone, the industrial park will offer investors a variety of fiscal and non-fiscal benefits such as tax holidays and exemptions, resident status for foreign investors and immediate family members, employment of foreign nationals, automated import and export permit system, additional deduction for labor expenses, duty-free importation of capital equipment, spare parts, materials and supplies, among others.

“We expect to generate around 500,000 (direct and indirect) employment within 8 years in the industrial park. We look forward to hundreds of companies to locate in Suntrust Ecotown and the job generation it will bring to Filipinos,” says Paltongan.

A new industrial haven

Suntrust Ecotown positions itself as a new alternative industrial park for multinational locators because of its strategic location. Its close proximity to major airports and seaports as well as business districts such as Makati CBD, Ortigas Center, Fort Bonifacio, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Manila Port and Batangas Port; and accessibility to main thoroughfares such as SLEX (South Luzon Expressway) and Cavite Expressway (Cavitex) make it a perfect location for foreign companies that require mobility for their executives.

“There’s a room for growth within the Suntrust Ecotown because we have more areas allotted for future expansion that can accomodate more locators and will allow us to put residential areas, new commercial establishments, and other fresh inspirations of our pioneering live, work, and play township lifestyle concept,” says Tan.

As part of its eco-friendly orientation, Suntrust Ecotown will also focus on effective use of land, sustainable use of renewable resources, and proper management of environment. It will have its own sewerage treatment plant and water tank pump station reservoir to maximize the water usage.

The industrial park will be limited to non-polluting light to medium industries that have superior facilities for waste management. It will also have tree-lined highways, round-the-clock security, spacious parks and planting strips, and e-shuttle services.

Suntrust Properties, Inc. has made a name in affordable vertical and horizontal residences in Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Manila, Pasig, Quezon City, Mandaluyong, Baguio, and Davao. Its projects consists of subdivision and condominium enclaves.

Megaworld has pioneered the “LIVE-WORK-PLAY-LEARN” lifestyle concept for mixed-use communities in the Philippines, which are popularly known as “townships.”

These include the 18.5-hectare Eastwood City, which is considered to be the country’s first cyberpark; the 50-hectare McKinley Hill in Fort Bonifacio; the 25-hectare Newport City in Pasay City; the 5-hectare Forbes Town Center in Bonifacio Global City; the 28.8-hectare The Mactan Newtown in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu; the 15.4-hectare Uptown Bonifacio in Bonifacio Global City; the 34.5-hectare ultra high-end McKinley West in Fort Bonifacio; the 12.3-hectare Woodside City in Pasig City; the 11.4-hectare Davao Park District in Davao City; and the 72-hectare Iloilo Business Park in Iloilo City.

Over the past 25 years, the Megaworld Group has emerged as the country’s No. 1 real estate organization. It has completed more than 320 residential and office buildings with a total area of around 5.6 million square meters. Currently, about 185 residential, office and hotel buildings with a total area of around 5.4 million square meters are under development.