Ayala Land Inc. (ALI), property developer, is searching for partners and properties for its plan to develop information technology (IT) buildings or parks in the Visayas and Mindanao, particularly in Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro and Davao cities.

ALI senior vice-president and corporate business group head, Maria Victoria C. Anonuevo, noted that the company is also planning to create special purpose vehicles (SPV) to bankroll these projects.

Anonuevo went on to add that it could be a building or a park, depending on the space, need in the market and the amount of talent in the place. The market is so bullish and the BPO (business process outsourcing) is a sunrise industry.

These comments were made on the sidelines of the unveiling of the eBloc, a 12-story office building that will cater to BPO companies at the Asiatown IT Park in Lahug.

The eBloc is a P900-million project financed by the Asian I-Office Properties, Inc., an SPV created by Asiatown developer Cebu Property Ventures and Development Corp. (CPVDC) for the project. Construction on another office building for BPOs is expected to begin in 2009.

The second building is expected to rise within the five-hectare portion of the park that makes up the second phase of Asiatown’s development.

Only 18 hectares of the 24-hectare IT park have been developed.

Anonuevo also commented that a big US-based call center and two other companies that are set to expand their operations are interested in leasing space at the eBloc. With the benefits that the Philippine market can offer to US-based companies interested in outsourcing their contact center operations, increased interest is expected.

"They (the US-based call center) did it through a third party before. Now they want to do it (operate the call center) on their own. They will invest here," Anonuevo said in a company statement. She declined to identity the intended company as an official agreement has yet to be signed.

The eBloc, like the other buildings at Asiatown, the eBloc will be provided with redundant power and water supply, optimum telecommunication facilities, centralized sewage system and security.

It is the continued development of such buildings and business parks that will help to contribute to the growth of the BPO market in the Philippines, for contact centers especially.

While it is true that many US-based companies are searching for lower cost options for their contact center operations, they still have certain expectations in place for the infrastructure they seek. If an area can’t meet these expectations, they will not be able to growth their BPO market.

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Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TMC (News - Alert) and has also written for eastbiz.com. To see more of her articles, please visit Susan J. Campbell’s columnist page.

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