AIC expanding outside Metro Cebu

Known as the “Shipbuilding Capital of the Philippines”, WCE is a 540-hectare industrial-anchored development in the coastal municipality of Balamban.

Currently, it employs 14,000 employees and hosts 11 companies, some of which are the largest shipbuilding firms in the world.

“West Cebu Estate will play a key role in elevating the profile of Industrial Estates in the Philippines and serve as a benchmark in the Asia Pacific region,” says Rafael Fernandez de Mesa, AIC Economic Estates Head and Cebu Industrial Park Developers Inc. President.

Last March 2022, WCE broke ground on a 39-hectare industrial expansion to cater to the growing demands from a wider range of industry beyond maritime businesses, such as automotives, manufacturing, and logistics.

The expansion is 6 percent ahead of schedule at present and new locators can start building their facilities by April 2023.

By 2024, the industrial expansion will be completed, generating an additional 14,000 job opportunities for residents of Balamban and the rest of Cebu province.

“The next phase of development will be the introduction of a Central Business District, envisioned as the new urban center of Balamban,” according to de Mesa.

“Initially, there will be a neighborhood commercial complex, West Cebu Exchange that will house local and global retail brands, basic services, food outlets, a supermarket, and a transportation hub,” he elaborated.

“This will be followed by commercial lots for sale for mixed office, residential and institutional uses.” AIC is set to break ground for the first phase of the commercial development in the third quarter of 2023.

“We remain optimistic that our vision of West Cebu Estate as a center of commerce stimulating further growth for Balamban and Cebu will come to fruition, ” de Mesa noted.

He cited WCE’s strategic location, skilled population, lower cost of doing business, and well-established ecosystem of infrastructure as advantages.