BY GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Urban developer Megaworld announced yesterday that it is increasing its capital spending for its 34-hectare Bacolod townships to P45 billion, particularly in the Upper East, as it ramps up construction activities in the area.
“We are adding P10 billion more to our investment for the Upper East as we see great potential and opportunities for this new township, which is now fast rising to be Bacolod first modern central business district,” Jennifer Palmares- Fong, Megaworld- Visayas president for sales and marketing disclosed last night.
In 2015, Megaworld said that it was pouring in P35 billion to develop two townships in Negros Occidental – the 50-hectare Northill Gateway at the boundary of cities of Bacolod and Talisay, and The Upper East – over a period of 10 years.
Mayor Evelio Leonardia, who assisted Palmares-Fong in the opening of 8-lane Upper East Avenue inside the Bacolod township, yesterday said that the increasing investment of Megaworld to Bacolod City means so much to Bacoleños as it represents “our graduation from COVID-19 pandemic.”
“This is our road to recovery,” Leonardia declared.
After two years of suffering from the pandemic, “we are now coming back with a vengeance,” he stressed, as the mayor also thanked Megaworld Corp. president and chairman of the board, Dr. Andrew Tan, for pouring billions in investments to Bacolod City.
In the Upper East, Megaworld already completed the construction of the 12-storey One Regis, its first residential condominium project which is due for turnover within the year.
The company also topped off the second tower – the 14-storey Two Regis, which is being targeted for completion next year, Palmares-Fong said.
She added that two more condominium towers are in the construction pipeline, the 14-storey One Manhattan and the recently-launched 12-storey Herald Parksuites.
Megaworld also formally opened the Upper East Avenue, its eight-lane main avenue inside The Upper East, that connects Lopez Jaena Street to Carlos Hilado highway, hoping to ease traffic congestion in Burgos Street, Bacolod City.
Leonardia revealed that it was him, who asked Tan to open the 8-lane Upper East Avenue, as soon as possible.
“I felt it was a necessity, not just for traffic, but for us to say that we are now on the road to recovery,” he said.
Leonardia said that Tan is not only an investor, “but the most functional of all the honorary mayors of Bacolod City.”
He thanked Tan for giving Bacolod City a “new dawn”.
The Upper East Avenue is composed of six road lanes and two “on street” parking lanes. It is open to both private and public vehicles, subject to the traffic rules and regulations of its own estate management group, which will deploy traffic marshals in the area.
Palmares-Fong said that the opening marks an important milestone for The Upper East as it showcases the kilometer-long stretch of the township with several areas having simultaneous construction activities.
She also announced that the company’s first BPO office development at the Number 1 Upper East Avenue has also started its construction activities, as Megaworld will also begin the construction of commercial developments in the township.
Continuing its rise as the city’s first master-planned mixed-use community, The Upper East will soon have its own Megaworld Lifestyle Mall, commercial parks, hotel, church and other institutional and recreational facilities, Palmares-Fong further said.*
