Aboitiz InfraCapital bags 4 honors at the 9th PropertyGuru Philippines Property Awards
A testament to its excellence in estate development, management, and operations, Aboitiz InfraCapital’s Integrated Economic Centers was conferred with four awards – including the coveted title “Best Industrial Developer” – at the 9th PropertyGuru Philippines Property Awards, the country’s leading real estate awards program spearheaded by Southeast Asian pioneering property technology company PropertyGuru Group.
“Given the tough screening and caliber of entries in this year’s edition, recognition from the Property Awards further validates our position as a leading industrial estate developer in the Philippines,” said Rafael Fernandez de Mesa, Head of Aboitiz Integrated Economic Centers and President of LIMA Land, Inc. and Cebu Industrial Park Developers, Inc.
“We are honored to receive these awards, which serve as motivation as we expand and transform LIMA Estate and West Cebu Industrial Park. We envision these estates to become larger, as well as more sustainable and technologically advanced, through the continuous introduction of new green and smart city features. True to our mission to advance industry and life, the two estates’ expansion plans will surely support and sustain economic recovery as they generate jobs and trigger business activity in their localities,” he added.
In his video message for the Best Industrial Development Award, Head of Aboitiz Integrated Economic Centers Rafael Fernandez de Mesa highlighted that LIMA Estate is more than just an industrial park as it also has a multitude of open spaces, commercial activity, and residential components.
LIMA Estate, Aboitiz’s 794-hectare industrial-anchored township in Lipa-Malvar, Batangas, was hailed the “Best Industrial Development” for being a “confidence-boosting symbol of the potential of the Philippines and the creation of a future-ready industrial, commercial, and residential destination”. The Philippine Economic Zone Authority-registered estate is home to 130 international and local locators, 60,000 employees, 2,500 households, a 138-room 4-star hotel development, and 167 shops located in its mall establishments.
With its growing 30-hectare Central Business District (CBD) – the first to rise in Batangas – LIMA has emerged as one of the leading industrial estates in the country. It currently houses various commercial components such as The Outlets at Lipa, LIMA Exchange, LIMA Park Hotel, and LIMA Transport Hub.
LIMA Land, Inc. is set to build a seven-tower office park at the heart of LIMA’s CBD, to capitalize on the anticipated boom of business process outsourcing (BPO) companies outside the National Capital region. LIMA has also put four hectares of commercial lot inventory up for sale earlier this year.
In addition to LIMA Estate, the Aboitiz Integrated Economic Centers also include the Mactan Economic Zone 2 and West Cebu Industrial Park in Cebu. Spanning over 1,000 hectares in total, the Estates are known for being well-supported by a complete ecosystem of infrastructure facilities and services, run by Aboitiz affiliates including Aboitiz InfraCapital (AIC), AboitizPower, and Aboitiz Construction.
AIC also received Special Recognition in Sustainable Design and Construction and Special Recognition in ESG for its sustainable practices deeply embedded from the beginning of its estates’ development and expansion to its operations.
In line with the Aboitiz Group sustainability mindset, the Estates apply sustainable construction and design practices where they can. These include energy efficient construction, low impact materials selection, waste prevention systems, environment-friendly design features, and renewable resources.
The Estates also uphold environmental, social, and governance best practices in its operations, through initiatives such as LIMA’s award-winning solid waste management program, smart water management with LIMA Water, its use of renewable energy and solar panel installations at The Outlets at Lipa with AboitizPower, and MEZ2’s electric shuttles.
AboitizLand’s residential project within LIMA Estate, The Villages at Lipa, was also Highly Commended in the Best Housing Development (Southern Luzon) category.
This year, PropertyGuru’s Property Awards saw its best year ever in terms of number of entries and highest entries level within the participating countries in the region. In his opening message, Country Head of Jones Lang LaSalle Philippines, Inc. and Chairperson of the Independent Judging Panel Christophe Vicic noted, “Looking towards the immediate future for quarter four 2021 and onwards to 2022, we believe that the Philippines real estate sector will regain some growth and developments driven by the continuous residential performance and the strong emergence of the logistics and industrial sector, coupled with data center expansion.”
AIC and LIMA Estate will go on to compete against other country winners of the Best Industrial Developer and Best Industrial Development categories at the 2021 PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards Grand Final on December 9.
