Office space demand surpasses supply
Credit to Author: ANNA LEAH E. GONZALES| Date: Wed, 04 Sep 2019 16:39:16 +0000
OFFICE spaces available for the information technology-business process outsourcing (IT-BPO) sector in the country’s accredited economic zones (ecozones) are no longer enough to meet demand, an industry group has warned.
On the sidelines of the Digital Disruption 2.0 forum in Pasay City on Tuesday, Rey Untal, president of the Information Technology and
Business Process Association of the Philippines (Ibpap), expressed concern that “there’s very little space [for the industry] to utilize [to record] a substantial annual growth that we [can] actually see.”
“Net new [office] takeup is about 450,000 square meters a year, and the last time I checked, the continuous available space in Metro Manila is about 120,000 to 150,000 sqm only,” he added.
The growing scarcity of office spaces was blamed on Administration Order 18, which President Rodrigo Duterte issued in June. It directed the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) to stop accepting, processing or evaluating applications for the creation of ecozones in Metro Manila.
According to Untal, there are currently 21 applications for IT parks and centers pending at the Office of the President.
“At least, there’s a big chance that those will be signed. There are another 100-plus [applications with] PEZA [Philippine Economic Zone Authority], so we still have the flexibility around getting more of these,” the official said.
“All is not lost, in fact, because we still have some IT parks, so you can continue to build buildings to create capacity,” the added.
Untal also said they would also meet with heads of local government units (LGUs) in Metro Manila to discuss possible business opportunities.
“If you look at Metro Manila, there are just a few areas that are heavily dense in terms of IT-BPO. These are [cities of] Makati, Taguig [and] Pasay, Alabang [in Muntinlupa City], Ortigas [Center in Pasig City]. But there are 17 cities in Metro Manila,” he noted.
Untal is scheduled to meet Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko” Domagoso on Thursday as the latter seeks to have more businesses in his city.
“Manila, for example, only had one IT center. That’s why we are having a meeting with Mayor Isko this week. They are clamoring for [offices] to be in Manila, so we are opening up dialogues,” he said.
The meetings with LGUs will also be for upskilling, according to him, adding that he would also meet with Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte and Makati Mayor Abigail Binay.