AboitizLand to open The Outlets discount mall in Batangas next year

MANILA, Philippines – AboitizLand, the new property arm of Aboitiz Equity Ventures Incorporated, will kick-start its commercial interests in Luzon by launching an outlet mall in Batangas.

Called The Outlets, the mall will feature discount shopping all year round on a 9.3-hectare development within the Lima Technology Center in the Lipa-Malvar area of Batangas.

The Outlets will have close to 30,000 square meters (sqm) of gross leasable area.

Its general manager, Eduardo Aboitiz, said they hope to open Phase 1 by April 2018.

“We want to offer something different to the Batangas public. We’re trying to deviate from the traditional box-type mall and offer open spaces and something for everybody to appreciate. We’re also going to have a multi-sport field as well as events on weekends,” he said in a recent event.

Aboitiz added that both international and local brands will be offered.

“It’s a mix, yes, we will have international brands but we also want local brands because this is for the local catchment area, this is for Batangas, so we also want to showcase what Batangas has to offer. We feel that this specific area is an underserved market considering that the catchment area only has 2 or 3 malls and no mall with this type of configuration,” he explained.

Phase 1, according to Aboitiz, will offer 140 leasable spaces which will house restaurants and premium brands at reduced price points.

The firm said it positioned The Outlets to complement its existing mixed-use development project in the area which so far has an economic zone, as well as a multi-sport field and a hotel.

The project, it added, is also expected to generate at least 700 jobs on top of the existing 60,000 workforce inside the economic zone.

Majority of AboitizLand’s projects are in Cebu but it has made headway in Luzon through its properties in Batangas in recent years.

Aside from the Lima Technology Center, AboitizLand launched its first Luzon-based residential venture, the 43-hectare Seafront Residences in San Juan, Batangas, last March.

Batangas, along with neighboring provinces Cavite and Laguna, is one of the high-growth areas outside Manila. It is expected to benefit from infrastructure projects such as the Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX) and the South line of the Philippine National Railways (PNR) extension. – Rappler.com