Megaworld's Iloilo Business Park breaks ground

Megaworld Corporation, the country’s #1 residential condominium and business process outsourcing (BPO) office developer, is set to break ground today, May 6, on its Iloilo Business Park project.

The company is setting aside P2.5 billion initially over the next two years to develop the road network within the 54.5-hectare IT park and for the construction of Richmonde Hotel Iloilo and Richmonde Tower plus two more BPO office towers within this time frame. The first retail component of the project, Festive Walk, will be completed in the latter part of 2012, after which Megaworld is set to invest more to bankroll the development until 2020.

The site of the project is the former Iloilo Airport, which Megaworld acquired from the National Government in 2007 for P1.2 billion in cash.

“With our groundbreaking rites today, we affirm the strong business prospects of Iloilo City and the Western Visayas region in particular. The Iloilo Business Park is an important component of the BPO triangle I am envisioning that will make the Philippines an exciting and thriving BPO destination worldwide,” noted Megaworld Chairman and CEO Andrew Tan.

BPO buildign render

“The Iloilo Business Park marks the second leg of our BPO triangle after our two cyberparks in Metro Manila, with the final leg to be launched in the next few years. Together, these will give BPO investors strong prospects not just based on location but the human resource component as well. Early on, we decided to launch our BPO presence here considering that Ilonggos naturally have a pleasant vocal tone, are highly educated and are very hardworking,” the business tycoon continued.

Jericho Go (1st VP), Rommel Orbigo (PR officer) and Kevin Tan (VP) of Megaworld Corporation.

The groundbreaking ceremonies for R ichmonde Hotel Iloilo and Richmonde Tower mark the first projects to be started within the Iloilo Business Park. The 12-story hotel will host 90 guest rooms, ranging from superior rooms to junior suites. Its seventh-level amenities deck features play amenities such as a lap pool, children’s pool and fitness center, while the business center on the same level will include meeting rooms and a conference room. Richmonde Hotel Iloilo is the third project of Megaworld under this hotel brand. The hotel is projected to serve businessmen and tourists who flock annually to witness Iloilo City’s historic and colorful festivals.

Richmonde Tower and Hotel

The Richmonde Tower will occupy the second to sixth floors of the hotel, offering more than 9,000 square meters of prime office space for BPO locators. Both projects are slated for completion within the next two years.

Since the Iloilo Business Park was granted a certification by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority as an information technology (IT) park in January 2010, BPO locators at Richmonde

Tower will be entitled to exclusive perks such as income tax holidays, duty-free importation of office equipment and repatriation of earnings, among others.

At 54.5 hectares, Iloilo Business Park is the largest IT park yet of publicly-listed Megaworld Corporation, the country’s #1 business process outsourcing (BPO) office landlord. The master plan for the entire community includes hotels, BPO office towers, a convention center, a skills training center and retail components. With its premium brands, affordable boutiques and al fresco dining areas for restaurants, the two-kilometer retail and dining strip of Festive Walk is expected to become the next hip hangout for Iloilo’s youth and a vital tourist spot.

With its strong Work-Play-Learn components, Megaworld is projecting that Iloilo Business Park will fill more than 24,000 seats for the BPO sector, whereas its retail component will infuse more than 200,000 square meters of space for the commercial sector. All in all, Megaworld expects to help create about 40,000 new jobs within Iloilo City, thus helping spur up the local economy.

More Groundbreaking Ceremonies Photos here. | See whole project plan here

Ultimate Ilonggo Favorite: KBL Kadyos, Baboy, Langka

K.B.L. or Kadyos, Baboy, Langka is the ultimate favorite dish of most Ilonggos. It is also one of the most missed native dishes as kadyos and the souring ingredient, batwan , are hard to find when outside of the Ilonggo region. Basically, it is boiled/stewed pork dish owing its "deliciousness" to the combination of the soft and tender pork, the tamed sourness of batwan and the malinamnam na sabaw . One of the "secrets" of the malinamnamn na sabaw , is the fact that the pork, whether just the plain meat or pata (hocks) are first grilled or broiled. This gives the broth a rather smoky taste that makes it more appetizing.. Learn how to make the Ilonggo dish KBL (Kadyos, Baboy, at Langka) with the recipe below. Ingredients 1 kilo Pata (pork hocks) or pork cubes, GRILLED and sliced into bite size pieces 1 unripe Jack fruit, cubed 2 cups pigeon pea (kadyos) 6-8 pieces batwan fruit (or tamarind powder) 1 piece pork broth cube (

An Ilonggo favorite - Valenciana

Found in almost all occasions like fiesta, birthdays, reunions and others, Ilonggos really love valenciana because most if not all have grown accustomed of having it in special gatherings at home. A complete " go, grow and glow " dish because it has the carbohydrates, protein and vitamins and minerals in just one spoonful, Valenciana is really an " occasional dish ". Here's the recipe for Valenciana

Takway

The gabi (taro) is just one of those plants which is edible from "roots to tops". The most popular of which is the tuber part which is used in a variety of dishes and mostly in combination with coconut milk. Its leaves, of course, is the main ingredient of a Bicol specialty, laing . It is dried then chopped and sauteed with other ingredients including, again, coconut milk. Then there is takway . The local term for its tendrils/runner, that part which is torn between being a stem or a root for it neither grows upwards nor downwards - it grows sideways . Scraped off of its outer skin, takway is often a key ingredient in vegetable dishes like laswa and the gabi tuber with coconut milk and local snails know as bago-ngon . It is also popular when cooked adobo style with guinamos , the local bago-ong . It is very popular in the region that even big supermarkets sell takway in style - cleaned and plastic wrapped in styro with some additions to make it easier to prepare.

Batwan

Ilonggos know batwan or batuan by heart as the fruit is almost endemic to the Western Visayas. Its scientific name is Garcinia binucao, derived from the Tagalog name for the fruit, binukaw. It is a large green fruit with large seeds and its a favorite souring ingredient in most Ilonggo dishes especially KBL or kadyos, baboy, langka and the Ilonggo-style paksiw known as "pinamalhan". It is characterized by a tamed sourness compared to tamarind and kamias . The fruit is sold by pieces or kilo in wet markets and even big grocery stores. Batwan is the preferred souring ingredients for the Ilonggo favorite- KBL. The photo shows boiled batwan with skin and without skin (right) A favorite riddle when we were young - "Among the many fruits in the forest, but one (batuan) is the best. What is it?"

A native (foods) welcome in Guimaras

Even after having breakfast less than an hour that time, we couldn't say no to this lot of native delciacies that welcomed us in Guimaras. First and foremost, Guimaras best known produce is their sweet mango famous almost worldwide. And it comes with it's best partner, ibos. This brown baye-baye variety is made from toasted rice thus giving it a more disctinct flavour compared to it's more "caucasian" cousin. I like the one wrapped in banana leaves compared with the one in plastic for it gives it a more native feel. So when you're in Guimaras, be sure to check out the markets for these native delicacies that can make your trip more gastronomically satisfying.

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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