BACOLOD CITY — Mayor Evelio Leonardia here is optimistic that this capital city of Negros Occidental will continue attracting investors to bring in more developments especially in the real estate sector.
Reacting to reports of Colliers International Philippines that Bacolod is one of the notable locations for hotel and commercial offices development in the country, Leonardia said he valued this recognition as it plays an important role in terms of attracting more businesses.
“In effect, you are given the presumption of being good; thus, we should take this seriously, avail and ride on this momentum every time we have positive news like this,” he added.
The global services company reported last week that in terms of commercial offices, Bacolod as well as areas like Quezon, Pampanga, Cebu, Davao, and Iloilo are considered notable locations primarily for co-working space, SM malls, and knowledge process outsourcing (KPO).
Colliers also listed Bacolod City along with Cebu and Palawan as notable locations for hotel development.
Bacolod’s performance is in fact projected to increase next year especially with trends like three- to four-star hotels and resort-oriented developments, the company said.
Leonardia cited the local government’s determined effort to cut red tape as one measure to make it easy for business to grow in this city.
“In our business platform, we emphasized that business should rapidly grow,” Leonardia said, adding that “we can see the signs of the times because all big players are here now.”
Among these players include SM Prime Holdings Inc., Ayala Land Inc., Megaworld Corp., Double Dragon Properties, and Robinsons Land Corp.
Their presence is an indicator that they see something in Bacolod, the mayor said.
Leonardia added that Bacolod with a population of almost 593,000 only, is the sixth biggest city outside Metro Manila next to Cebu, Davao, Zamboanga, Cagayan de Oro and General Santos.
The city is smaller compared to other cities but the economy here is on an uptrend, he added. (Erwin Nicavera/PNA)
