Davao City has been dubbed as the King City of the South and the Crown Jewel of Mindanao for a reason. Over the years, it continues to prove why it rightfully deserves the throne.
Pinnacle Real Estate Consulting Services Inc. had closer look of Davao City in its recent Market Vista report titled “Eye on Davao,” citing the continuous growth of the city’s local economy, investor-friendly business environment, impressive infrastructure projects and property developments, and a capable local government as the reasons why it is one of the hottest investment hubs in the Philippines today.
With about 244,000 hectares of land — 64 percent of which is forest and pasture land, 30 percent agricultural and six percent urban areas — and with over a million residents, according to 2015’s population census, it is currently undertaking several major road infrastructure projects such as the 44.6-kilometer Davao City Bypass Road, the 19.8-kilometer Davao City Coastal Road and the 23.3-kilometer Davao City Expressway.
According to Pinnacle, apart from said road projects and the discussions on the construction of an urban light rail transit system, the High Priority Bus System project is expected to roll out this year. All these projects are set to improve the traffic in the city as well as the connectivity within the Davao region.
Davao International Airport annual passenger volume has been increasing by 10.9 percent since 2010, transporting over four million passengers in 2017 and making it the third busiest airport in the Philippines after Metro Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and Mactan–Cebu International Airport (MCIA).
“To cope with increasing passenger volume, the government is undertaking the Davao Airport Operations, Maintenance, and Development Project by the start of 2019. The new design capacity will be significantly increased to 17.9 million passengers annually — more than 500 percent capacity improvement — which is based on the airport’s projected demand by 2045,” Pinnacle reported.
The city’s seaport, which is also the third busiest in the country, will undergo a P2 billion-modernization project.
Pinnacle also pointed the local government efforts, which led to several awards and recognitions such as the Seal of Good Local Governance from the Department of Interior and Local Government and fourth Most Competitive City for 2018 in the Highly Urbanized category during sixth Regional Competitiveness Summit under the Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index Awards.
Meanwhile, the report noted that sustainable and friendly business environment, the upcoming infrastructure projects and tourism will be the city’s growth drivers, luring companies to put up business in the city and increase their stakes.
Davao City’s landscape and skyline will change dramatically, the report noted. Currently, leading property developers in the Philippines and in the region are spearheading massive real-estate projects.
Few of the most anticipated projects include Ayala Land and Alcantara Group of Companies’ 25-hectare mixed-use development Azuela Cove; Megaworld Corporation’s one-hectare Davao Park District; SMDC’s s first residential foray in Davao, Lane Residences; Cebu Landmasters’ Mesatiera Garden Residences; DMCI Homes’ four-tower VerdonParc; and Anchor Land Holdings; 202 Peaklane project.