ALI eyes more estates

Property giant Ayala Land Inc. is looking to build more industrial estates—and possibly enter the Mindanao market—in line with the group’s plan to help spur increased manufacturing activity in the country.

ALI vice chair Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala said in a briefing on the sidelines of the Manufacturing Summit 2016 on Tuesday that the Ayala group ventured into industrial estates development because of its manufac- turing arm, Integrated Microelectronics Inc. (IMI).

In 1989, the group built Laguna Technopark—in partnership with Japanese firms Mitsubishi and Kawasaki Steel Corp.—to meet the massive demand for industrial space.

The initial venture covered only 224 hectares that straddled the cities of Sta. Rosa and Biñan in Laguna.

Today, the estate has eight phases covering 460 hectares that cater to light and medium, non-polluting enterprises. It has generated over 100,000 in direct employment.

“We wanted to expand that model so we’re looking both at the north and the south (of Luzon),” Zobel said.

In Northern Luzon, Zobel cited the group’s vast landbank in Porac, Pampanga next to the Clark Freeport.

“I think that area has the potential to be developed in that sense. We have land in Cavite, of course, that’s a natural (site) as well for industrial space,” he said.

Asked whether the group was considering to build industrial parks outside Luzon given the Duterte administration’s thrust to develop the countryside, Zobel said the group may consider building one in Mindanao.

“We have a very large property in northern Mindanao, in Laguindingan and that has an airport already so with the right partner—and we are having some conversations with some big players—potentially that could be one,” Zobel said.

ALI has a subsidiary tasked to develop a 500-hectare property in Laguindingan, Misamis Oriental.