The new office towers in Southwoods City in Biñan, Laguna, have been given the required accreditation of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) as a special economic zone for information technology (IT).

This after President Rodrigo Duterte recently signed Presidential Proclamation No. 381 naming the Southwoods City Office Towers 1 and 2 as a special economic zone.

“Income tax holiday, tax and duty-free importation of raw materials, capital equipment, machineries, and spare parts are examples of fiscal incentives while simplified import – export procedures, non-resident foreign nationals may be employed by PEZA-registered enterprises are examples of non-fiscal incentives that we can give to our office tenants in Southwoods City office towers,” says Kevin L. Tan, chief strategy officer, Megaworld.

Under Republic Act 7916, otherwise known as The Special Economic Zone Act of 1995, the law provides special tax incentives and holidays to business establishments operating in the Ecozone. The real property tax on the land will be paid by the developer and no other local and national taxes will be imposed on businesses operating within the Ecozone.

Foreigners who have investments in the Ecozone will be granted permanent resident status including their spouse and dependents (children under 21 years old). The PEZA is also authorized to issue working visas renewable every two years to foreign executives and other foreigners working or doing business inside the special economic zone.

“The two office towers aim to help multinational companies boost and expand their businesses in Southwoods City. There are a lot of business opportunities in this growing township,” he adds.

Each 12-storey tower is directly connected to Southwoods Mall, allowing office workers to have close access to the dining and retail establishments of the mall. The new towers also have their own basement parking facility.

The two office towers have an estimated 46,000 square meters of leasable office space inventory, which can accommodate around 8,000 workers. Each floor features a 2.7-meter floor-to-ceiling finish and double-glazed windows, for heat reduction and panoramic views of the township.

The towers use the VRF air-conditioning system in which the office temperature could easily be regulated, putting forward the importance of energy efficiency. Work will also go uninterrupted even with sudden power outage with two generator sets allocated per tower.

The office towers will be a few meters away from the township’s transport hub where public utility vehicles are readily available, providing transport options to various key areas such as Alabang and major cities of Cavite, Makati and Fort Bonifacio.

Southwoods City office towers are also in close proximity to a hospital, a church, and several leisure and recreational hubs such as the The Manila Southwoods Golf and Country Club, which surrounds the entire township.

Turnover of the office spaces in both towers begins this year.