Biz Buzz: Megaworld for mega vaccination center
Contrary to what’s been circulating, Alliance Global Group Inc., the holding company of businessman Andrew Tan, said that the land leased from Nayong Pilipino Foundation (NPF) is not the same portion of the property where the agency plans to build its theme park.
The property leased by the group as early as 2014—which forms part of Westside City being jointly developed by Megaworld and Westside City Resorts World Inc.—is an idle parcel of reclaimed land across the proposed theme park property of Nayong Pilipino, which is on the other side of the water channel.
“This is not the theme park land being referred to as the proposed site of the mega vaccination center,” Alliance Global CEO Kevin Tan said in a statement that the company released the other day.
“In this area, there are two properties being separated by a water channel: the bigger property on the left side, where Nayong Pilipino is planning to build the theme park and also the area where the proposed mega vaccination center is to be built, and the smaller property on the right side, which is what we have leased from NPF,” he said.
Tan added that the group “fully supports Enrique Razon’s plan to build the mega vaccination center, and in fact, we have already allowed the International Container Terminals Services Inc. Foundation to use our company’s property as their temporary construction staging area.”
The group said Westside City’s vision is to transform the leased land into the biggest hub for performing arts and theatre and become the “Broadway of Asia” that will further support and promote local theater and arts, provide a world-class venue for local talents, and showcase Filipino creativity, ingenuity and excellence. It will be the site of the country’s first state-of-the-art grand opera house, and an entire street of other iconic performing art theaters, reminiscent of New York City’s own Broadway District.
No casino will be built in this area, he said. So that’s that. — DAXIM L. LUCAS
Eco-hub
Lockdown protocols prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic have sped up e-commerce adoption in the Philippines. On the flip side, however, this has bloated the volume of plastic materials that would normally end up in garbage landfills or, worse, find their way to waterways.
Now, imagine 73 basketball courts filled with plastic waste. That’s how 28 metric tons of plastic waste would look like. That much waste was what property giant Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) had recycled in 2020 into useful eco-products.
In partnership with environmental solutions company Green Antz Builders, those plastic waste materials had been mixed with cement and other materials to form durable construction materials like bricks, pavers and casts used for pathways, fences and sidewalks.
ALI said it had expanded its commitment to environmental protection amid the COVID-19 pandemic by using a circular economy approach to waste management. It collected tons of dry plastic waste from its properties and communities last year and recycled them into such eco-materials used in its estates and residential communities.
“The cycle involves collecting clean and dry plastics at designated drop-offs and transporting them to eco-hubs, which are recycling facilities where the plastics are shredded and incorporated into concrete products developed by Green Antz,” said Anna Maria Gonzales, ALI sustainability manager.
ALI’s first eco-hub opened in March 2019 in Arca South, a 74-hectare mixed-used development in Taguig City. In October 2019, the Lio Tourism Estate in El Nido, Palawan, opened its own eco-hub.
Among the users of eco-products produced in the hub was Globe Telecom, which turned over 24,500 eco-bricks to seven communities during its anniversary in third quarter of 2019. In the Makati central business district, the group has installed 60,000 eco-pavers at the sidewalks in the third quarter of 2020. AC Energy’s SolarAce and GigaSol, on the other hand, used more than 24,000 eco-casts to build the control rooms of their solar power plants in Alaminos, Laguna and Zambales.
Evo City in Kawit, Cavite, is using 60,000 eco-bricks and 50,000 eco-casts for fencing while Lio produced 158,000 eco-pavers for its sidewalks and pavement.
The total volume of rubbish recycled by ALI in 2020 was comparable to the amount of plastic waste gathered from two of its largest malls, Greenbelt and Glorietta, in a regular year. —DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA
Okra goes to Korea
Local okra will soon hit Korea’s grocery shelves as the Philippines is expected to export these “lady fingers” after complying with the agreed requirements set by both countries.
“After the resumption of okra exports to Japan last year, we are opening yet another market access for our okra, this time with the huge Korean food market,” Agriculture Secretary William Dar said.
The latest development is a significant milestone as the Philippine government has been requesting market access of okra to Korea since 2014 to provide that market an alternative to the okra from China.
Exports are expected to kick off later this year.
The green okra pods will be sourced initially from the province of Tarlac where four Philippine okra exporters are located— Jelfarm Fresh Produce Enterprise; Greenstar Produce, Philippines Inc.; AAMC Foods Corp.; and HiLas Marketing Corp.
Filipino farmers plant okra as it is a high-yielding crop and provides a good source of income during the off-season of palay.
According to the Department of Agriculture, farmers can harvest 500 kilograms up to one ton of okra pods per hectare, providing them a net income between P80,000 and P120,000. —KARL R. OCAMPO INQ