Setting sights towards the South

South Coast City Dovetails with Cebu’s Resilience and Recovery Toward Economic Progress

As the vaccine rollout goes full swing, it is a race to regain economic footing with businesses and cities rearing to bounce back to a new and safer normal.

The pandemic has taught the business community many lessons. Among them, creating separate redundant sites, or even looking into new, less congested growth centers.

Even pre-pandemic, Cebu has always performed better than the national GDP average with its thriving economy fueled by BPO, tourism, manufacturing, and real estate. 

Interesting to note is that while Cebu’s business was also badly hit by the pandemic and despite some challenges, the BPO industry in Cebu continues to be resilient, having established a firm footing with more than 300 players occupying more than a million square meters of space.  

And while the city became the center of an outbreak at the start of the pandemic, Cebu has successfully been able to reduce and control its cases. In fact, a 95 percent recovery rate based on reopening of businesses has been recently reported, owing to the successful management of both the public and private sectors.

One recovery enabler for Cebu is its current infrastructure build-up. The Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX) which links the Cebu City to Mactan is expected to open by 2022. This bridge is expected to provide direct access and cut travel time to and from the international airport. Plans for various mass transport systems, alternative expressways and a 4th bridge to Mactan are also underway.

One of the areas that will benefit from these infra upgrades is the South Road Properties (SRP) in Cebu City – a 200-hectare reclaimed area at the foot of the CCLEX. Major developers have already started their developments in this area which is set to be the newest investment destination in Cebu.

Strategically located at SRP is South Coast City. It is positioned to be the gateway of Cebu City as well as an epicenter of growth. Developed by the consortium of SM Prime Holdings, Ayala Land, Inc. and Cebu Holdings, Inc. – this new estate is the first contact from Mactan when passing the new bridge, and links the south to the north of Cebu.

Ayala Land builds on its experience from its two operating estates – Cebu Business Park and Cebu IT Park – the two leading business hubs south of Metro Manila.

South Coast City will have large scale facilities for entertainment and convergence like the arena and convention center. The centrally located 1.1 hectare park will allow venues for various activities and will link the pedestrian network of the entire estate.

Within South Coast City is District Square, a prime waterside commercial zone envisioned to provide the economic core for the estate. This area is planned for mixed-use commercial offerings which will complement the entertainment and recreational facilities of the broader community. District Square offers investment opportunities through its limited inventory commercial lots and is foreseen to be Cebu’s next premier commercial address.