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ALI readies capex for Camp John Hay(The Manila Times Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Jul. 3--AYALA Land Inc. (ALI) will spend about P3 billion for the development of mixed-use facilities inside the Camp John Hay. In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, ALI said it has entered into a land lease agreement with Camp John Hay Development Corp. for a 120, 636-square meter property within the John Hay Special Economic Zone. The Ayala company said the initial cost for the development of retail shops and business process outsourcing (BPO) office space will run to P3 billion. Based on plans, the development will have about 40,000 square meters of BPO office space and support facilities, and about 7,000 square meters of retail space. Camp John Hay has 246.9 hectares, with approximately 20 percent of the leased area occupied by a golf course. Only about 22 hectares or nine percent has been reserved for development. The remaining areas will be maintained as managed forests, making the camp an ideal ecotourism destination for both local and foreign travelers. The real-estate arm of the Ayala group is aggressively pursuing the BPO office market as demand for office space has gone up in the last few years. At present, the combined gross leasable aarea of its BPO building along De la Rosa Street in Makati and the HSBC building in Fort Bonifacio runs to 36,000 square meters. Marivic Anonuevo, who is in charge of the company's office buildings development, said ALI is eyeing to double its leasable area this year. Baguio City is already running out of space for investors, with the government eyeing to convert the runway of Loakan Airport into an extension of the fully occupied Baguio City Economic Zone. However, existing locators and residents of Baguio City are against on the proposal since they stand to lose their airport, which operates flights three times a week. Trade Secretary Peter Favila earlier said that converting the runway into an ecozone would attract hundred millions of dollars of investments to Baguio City. The government has offered the San Fernando International Airport inside the Poro Point Freeport Zone in La Union as an alternative. But existing locators have bucked the proposal, citing difficult land travel. Favila said some Korean and Japanese businessmen are keen on putting up their facilities inside the Loakan Airport, while existing investors in the Baguio City Economic Zone led by American chipmaker Texas Instruments are interested in expanding to the airport once converted into an ecozone. To see more of The Manila Times, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.manilatimes.net. Copyright (c) 2008, The Manila Times, Philippines Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |