Davao requires more ready-to-use sites for industrial locators – JLL

DAVAO CITY -- A lack of ready-to-use facilities for industrial locators is dampening this rapidly urbanizing city’s potential to bring in more growth, according to an official of real estate services firm Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL).

Cargo ships dock at Sasa, a seaport in Davao City where more logistics and warehousing facilities need to be developed, according to real estate services firm Jones Lang LaSalle. -- Lean S. Daval, Jr.

Claro dG. Cordero, Jr., JLL head of research, consulting, and valuation, said the city should develop more international-grade warehouse facilities and sites where companies can immediately set up shop. “You need all these sorts of industrial facilities to house them here,” Mr. Cordero said during his presentation at an Asia CEO Forum held at the Marco Polo Davao. Mr. Cordero said these logistics and warehousing facilities could be within a special economic zone in Toril District in the city’s southwest and Sasa in the northeast, which is already an established seaport. “There is definitely some market here for international grade warehousing because Davao is now soaring high, income is growing and consumption is expanding,” he said. Nonetheless, Mr. Cordero said Davao’s growth does not fully depend on these facilities. “It’s not anything that (if absent), the city’s economy will not grow. What I’m saying is that the growth of the local economy will be much faster if you have those kinds of products or opportunities,” he said. As the population grows and demand for goods and services increases, he added, the city with about 1.5 million people as of the 2010 census must have more mixed-use developments and distribution centers. “Those are the kind of hubs that Davao needs. That is what I mean to say that we need ample ready-built supply bases, warehousing that will cater to these consumers,” he said. He added that the formal economic integration of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations beginning this month is also expected to bring in more trade activity and opportunities that Davao should take advantage of. Mr. Cordero also said Davao City has started to attract business process outsourcing (BPO) companies with the opening of new office facilities. “Davao is gaining traction (compared with Cebu), and you are now on the radar of BPO companies. With the influx of investors, you’re in a very good position because of the growth yields. What investors are looking for is now happening in Davao,” he said. -- Maya M. Padillo