Megaworld Corporation has finally set May 6, 2011 as the date for the groundbreaking of its multi-billion real estate development in Iloilo City dubbed as the “Iloilo Business Park.” According to news reports, Megaworld will be pouring in as much as P20 billion worth of investments over a 10 year period to develop their 54.4 hectare prime property in Mandurriao District, Iloilo City.

Initially, the Iloilo Business Park will host two IT buildings for business process outsourcing (BPO) companies and Richmonde Hotel. Plans for a hospital and a theme park inside the property are also underway.

Earlier, Megaworld revealed its plans to transform the “Iloilo Business Park” into Iloilo City’s new central business district. The company envisions an 8 lane highway to be the main artery of the Iloilo Business Park. Along this road will be mostly low-rise to mid-rise buildings (up to 12 floors) for commercial spaces including BPO offices. At the center of the property is a large space for a 5,000 seater convention center and a hotel. At the southern end is reserved for a hypermart and a theme park, both of which will be developed after the other components.

Megaworld purchased the 54.4 hectare lot, which used to be the old Iloilo Domestic Airport, way back in 2007 for P1.2 billion. Megaworld said that it would require an additional 30MW of reliable electricity to sustain its investments on the “Iloilo Business Park.” The announcement of the May6, 2011 groundbreaking comes in light of the operations of the new 164 megawatt coal-fired power plant by Global Business Power Corporation (GBPC) in Iloilo City.