Megaworld, the country’s first and largest developer of integrated urban townships, is developing a 35.6-hectare prime property beside the provincial capitol of the City of San Fernando, Pampanga. The company is allocating P30-billion to develop the property in the next 10 years.

“As part of our aggressive township expansion across the country, we are happy to announce our entry into Pampanga. This is the perfect time and opportunity to be present in this progressive province, where else but right at the heart of the provincial capital which is a prime location for an urban township development,” says Kevin L. Tan, chief strategy officer, Megaworld.

The property is just approximately 70 kilometers away from Manila and closely accessible via the North Luzon Expressway (San Fernando Exit) and the Jose Abad Santos Avenue, also known as the Olongapo-Gapan Road. It is also around 20 kilometers away from Clark International Airport.

While the project masterplan is still being developed, Megaworld is bent on replicating its pioneering LIVE-WORK-PLAY concept of a township to this development.

“Just like our other townships, we will integrate residential, office, commercial, retail and institutional components in this development. As we see a potential pool of skilled talents for the BPO sector in the province, we are certain to build a cyberpark, bring in our partner locators to the township and generate thousands of jobs for the people of Pampanga,” explains Tan.

“This new township is also envisioned to expand and revitalize the Pampanga’s provincial capitol district,” he explained.

This is Megaworld’s 19th township development and the fourth to be launched this year. Earlier this year, the company has launched two townships in Negros Occidental, namely: Northill Gateway (50 hectares) and The Upper East (34 hectares); and another township in Sta. Barbara, Iloilo called Santa Barbara Heights (170 hectares).

The new townships will add close to 400 hectares, bringing the total township land area of the Megaworld Group to around 3,100 hectares by the end of the year.

Existing townships include Eastwood City in Quezon City, (18.5 hectares), which holds the distinction of being the country’s first cyberpark; Newport City in Pasay City (25 hectares), which is the home of Resorts World Manila; McKinley Hill (50 hectares), McKinley West (34.5 hectares), Uptown Bonifacio (15.4 hectares) and Forbes Town Center (5 hectares), all in Fort Bonifacio; The Mactan Newtown in Cebu (28.8 hectares); Iloilo Business Park in Mandurriao, Iloilo City (72 hectares); ArcoVia City in Pasig City (12.3 hectares); Davao Park District in Lanang, Davao City (11 hectares); Boracay Newcoast in Boracay Island (150 hectares), Southwoods City in the boundaries of Cavite and Laguna (561 hectares); Alabang West in Las Pinas City (62 hectares); and Twin Lakes in Tagaytay (1,300 hectares) of Global-Estate Resorts, Inc. (GERI), a subsidiary of Megaworld; and Suntrust Ecotown in Tanza, Cavite (350 hectares) of Suntrust Properties, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Megaworld.

The Megaworld Group has around 4,000 hectares of land in its portfolio. Around 80 percent have been dedicated for LIVE-WORK-PLAY townships or mixed-use communities, the concept of property development that Megaworld pioneered in the Philippines way back in the 1990s. The townships combine the residential, office, commercial and retail components to form mixed-use communities.