Aboitiz InfraCapital (AIC) bares plans to transform the LIMA Estate into a sustainable economic center to attract major investments to support the country’s economic recovery.

AIC is looking to reshape its 794-hectare LIMA Estate in the Lipa-Malvar industrial corridor into a smart, next-generation, future-ready economic center to draw more businesses and green development into the region.

LIMA Land President and AIC Economic Estates Head Rafael Fernandez de Mesa said the move towards sustainable, smart, and future-ready estates should draw more investments into manufacturing and industries that would create tens of thousands of jobs.

“We’re putting our Environmental, Social, and Governance goals at the heart of what we do, to enable us to create resilient spaces where we can also ensure the overall health and wellness of our community and the environment,” Fernandez de Mesa said.  

An additional 22,000 jobs are expected to be generated for the surrounding communities in the Lipa-Malvar, Batangas, following another 57-hectare industrial expansion to accommodate more locators in the LIMA Estate.

Early this year, AIC participated in a pilot program in partnership with the Philippine Green Building Council (PhilGBC) to secure the BERDE District Certification of the LIMA Estate.

Concurrently, it is also working with PhilGBC for the BERDE Building Certification of the LIMA Tower One, the first of seven multi-storey office buildings to be built at LIMA’s Central Business District, slated for completion in 2024.

BERDE Technical Manager Rowena Elayda lauds AIC’s commitment to the sustainable development of the built environment.

“It is important for developers of wide-scale projects to incorporate sustainability at the district-level to enable projects, such as the LIMA Estate, to be the catalyst of change on how building owners design, construct and operate their buildings,” Elayda shared.

PhilGBC developed the BERDE program in 2009 to proactively address the adverse impacts of climate change. The program, which has been recognized by the government, established the Philippines' own national voluntary green building rating system to facilitate sustainable projects.

In addition, the LIMA Estate is also host to the Philippines’ 1st EDGE Advanced-certified factory building, built and developed by Springhill Holdings. The Springhill LIMA Standard Factory Building (SFB) received a preliminary EDGE Advanced certification from the Philippine Green Building Initiative (PGBI) and was built to serve any industry’s manufacturing processes or warehousing with high vertical racking systems.

The EDGE certification is an innovation of the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC), created to respond to the need for a measurable and credible solution to prove the business case for building green and unlocking financial investment.

In line with these developments, Fernandez de Mesa emphasized the importance of ensuring that AIC’s Economic Estates are poised to welcome sustainable locators like Springhill as part of its commitment to enable businesses and uplift communities.

“These certifications and green initiatives underscore our commitment to ensure those who would choose our economic centers will find a home that checks all the boxes in their ESG scorecards now and in the years to come.”