Industrial growth is increasingly being measured not only by the investments it attracts, but by the jobs, skills, enterprise activity, and community outcomes it helps create.
EPSON’s presence for more than 30 years at LIMA Estate reflect the outcomes of integrated real estate development, where long-term investment is supported by aligned infrastructure, workforce systems, and community linkages that enable sustained jobs, skills development, and local economic participation.
Lipa-Malvar, Batangas — Aboitiz Economic Estates has received the _____ Tambuli for Inclusive Growth at the 2026 Asia Pacific Tambuli Awards, recognizing its integrated approach to industrial development and its contribution to creating shared value across the communities where it operates.
The recognition reflects a broader shift in industrial development. As manufacturers and investors look beyond land availability, industrial estates are increasingly expected to provide the systems that support long-term business performance: reliable infrastructure, workforce readiness, sustainability practices, institutional coordination, and strong linkages with surrounding communities.
Aboitiz Economic Estates as an Integrated Industrial Model
As industrial development evolves, estates are taking on a broader role within the regions they serve. Beyond providing land and infrastructure, they are increasingly supporting the conditions that enable businesses, workers, and communities to grow together over the long term.
In the Philippines, Aboitiz Economic Estates advances this approach through integrated real estate developments that bring together industrial, commercial, institutional, and community-supporting components. Anchored by LIMA Estate in Batangas, the platform is designed to support industrial activity while creating an environment where investment, talent, and economic opportunity can develop in parallel.
Its model focuses on workforce readiness, operational continuity, sustainability, institutional collaboration, and resilient infrastructure systems that support long-term growth.
This approach is reflected in the sustained presence of global locators including EPSON, Yamaha, Tsuneishi, Coca-Cola, and Ajinomoto, whose operations continue to contribute to economic activity, employment generation, and skills development within their host communities.
Workforce Resilience as an Industrial Imperative
A skilled and reliable workforce remains a critical requirement for long-term industrial growth. Through Talent Edge, its labor program, Aboitiz Economic Estates works with academic institutions and technical training partners to help align skills development with industry needs.
The initiative supports local talent pipelines and helps strengthen workforce readiness across host communities. As manufacturing becomes increasingly specialized, collaboration between industry and educational institutions plays an important role in preparing workers for evolving opportunities.
Aboitiz Economic Estates and Batangas State University, The National Engineering University, have formalised a partnership to develop a 10-hectare campus within LIMA Estate, establishing the Philippines’ first engineering learning hub inside an active industrial estate designed to meet locator needs and strengthen workforce readiness.
Sustainability as Operational Stewardship
Alongside workforce development, sustainability is integrated into estate operations through initiatives that support responsible resource management.
At Aboitiz Economic Estates, these efforts include water conservation, waste diversion, circular resource use, and broader environmental stewardship measures that help support the long-term viability of industrial activity. By embedding these practices into estate management, the company seeks to promote responsible growth while supporting operational continuity for locators.
LIMA Estate, a 1,100-hectare fully integrated development anchored by more than 200 foreign and domestic manufacturers and supporting the livelihoods of 75,000 Filipinos, reflects the growing role of integrated industrial ecosystems towards creating inclusive economic growth.
External Validation of an Integrated Industrial Model
The 2026 Asia Pacific Tambuli Award for Inclusive Growth recognizes approaches that create meaningful economic and social outcomes alongside business success.
For Aboitiz Economic Estates, the recognition reflects an integrated estate framework where industrial activity is connected with employment generation, skills development, industry-community linkages, and participation in local economies.
The award highlights how industrial estates can serve as platforms that connect investment, workforce development, infrastructure, and communities, enabling growth that extends beyond the boundaries of industrial operations.
“Industrial development today is no longer measured by infrastructure alone,” said Aboitiz Economic Estates and Aboitiz Land President and CEO Rafael Fernandez de Mesa. “It is measured by the quality of the ecosystem around it: the workforce it strengthens, the communities it connects to opportunity, and the long-term operating environment it creates for businesses. This recognition affirms our belief that industrial growth must translate into broader, more inclusive progress.”
Through its integrated real estate platform, Aboitiz Economic Estates demonstrates how industrial growth can contribute to inclusive development outcomes, creating value for locators, host communities, and the regions in which they operate.
