Rockwell Land gears up for major expansion

Rockwell Land Corporation, the property development arm of the Lopez group of companies, is allotting 114 billion for capital expenditures (capex) for 2018 and up to 14 billion to 15 billion for land acquisition over the next two years.

In an interview after the firm’s annual stockholders’ meeting, Rockwell Chief Finance Officer Ellen Almodiel said the 114-billion capex will already include some land acquisition aside from the construction costs.

Rockwell Senior Vice President for Business Development Davy Tan said that, while their core business remains in the higher middle income segment to the high end of the market, the company is ramping up its expansion into other segments such as affordable housing and hotels and resorts.

To do this, the firm intends to increase its land bank from 3 percent to 12 percent of its total assets by acquiring 64 hectares this year to add to its current land bank if 50 hectares. Next year, Rockwell will buy 220 hectares for a total acquisition of 284 hectares.

“Aside from properties we will be closing in Metro Manila, we are currently in advanced discussions for mixed-use projects in both the North and South of the Metro. We are very excited about this growth as it will allow us to introduce different products and share the Rockwell lifestyle to new markets,” said Tan.

The firm is also expanding its affordable housing market with the launch of a 15.8-billion project in Lipa, Batangas. The first phase of the project will generate 1700 million, said Rockwell Senior Vice President for Residential Development Val Soliven.

Rockwell Senior Vice President for Hotel and Leisure Baldwin Chua said they are also looking for more land to acquire for hotel and integrated residential and resort developments.

He said they are targeting Boracay, El Nido, Siargao, Bohol, Cagayan de Oro and Puerto Princesa. This comes after the first resort development in Mactan, Cebu.

“We remain to be on the move with our newest development in Punta Engaño boasting of beach front living. The 5.3-hectare property will have over 200 residential units and a hotel that will serve the growing tourism industry,” said Rockwell President Nestor Padilla.

Already gaining high interest, the 16.2 billion new Rockwell project for sale is scheduled to launch in the third quarter of this year.

Meanwhile, Rockwell reported that the second tower of its Quezon City project, Arton North, is already performing 20 percent above budget, coming from the strong market reception of Arton West.

“Our venture into the Quezon City area surprised us with robust sales. Riding on this success, we will officially open inventory for Arton North this June with different sizes per unit type to cater to different market profiles,” Padilla said.