Megaworld partners with BCDA to create Bonifacio Capital District in Fort Bonifacio

Listed developer Megaworld Corp. on Thursday announced its partnership with the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) to create a 160-hectare district in Fort Bonifacio envisioned to be the "country's administrative capital."

Envisioned to house offices of the Senate and of the Supreme Court, Megaworld Executive Vice President Kevin Tan said the Bonifacio Capital District will merge several areas in the southern part of Fort Bonifacio.

"It's a new district that puts together McKinley Hill, McKinley West, and several other areas like South Pointe which is an SM-BCDA partnership. It also includes the BCDA lot and the Consular property as well," he explained, noting that the development is expected to be completed in the next 10 years.

"In the next five years, after completing the road developments, utilities network and the subway project, we will be focused on traffic management, which includes development of bike lanes and pedestrian networks as well as deployment of traffic marshals," Tan added.

The area will be under the jurisdiction of the Policy Review Board (PRB), which will be created by the two parties. A memorandum of agreement (MOA) for this was signed on Thursday.

At present, the gross floor area (GFA) of existing and operational commercial, residential, office and institutional properties within the district is around 1.26-million square meters.

Meanwhile, the projected GFA of proposed mixed-use developments in undeveloped lots within the district is around 2.1 million square meters.

Out of the total 160 hectares, Megaworld will develop the 88 hectares while the rest of the area will be under the BCDA.

"This district will soon house the country's major institutions such as the Senate of the Philippines, the Supreme Court, and the Court of Appeals," said BCDA President and CEO Vince Dizon.

"These government institutions will be complemented with more office spaces, residential units, parks, and commercial establishments -- which are all essential to our vision to create vibrant and livable communities for the people," he elaborated.

The Bonifacio Capital District will have Lawton Avenue as its main road, with direct access points towards Bonifacio Global City via the Lawton-Fifth Avenue connection.

It will also have access points from the Makati central business district and EDSA via McKinley Road and Chino Roces Avenue Extension, and will also be connected to the South Luzon Expressway and NAIA Expressway.

The development may also be accessed through the C5 Road via Bayani Road and Upper McKinley Road inside McKinley Hill. —KBK, GMA News