Manny Villar to develop 2,500-hectare property in southern NCR

Billionaire businessman Manuel Villar Jr. is planning to develop a sprawling 2,500-hectare property in the southern part of Metro Manila into a new central business district (CBD).

Villar recently told reporters the planned new CBD will be his “final development project” since it “will take more than the rest of my life to develop because of its size.”

The businessman said the property is owned by his privately-held real estate firm Villar Land.

“There is no other property near this size this close to Metro Manila,” he said.

He said the property cuts across the borders of 11 cities including Las Piñas, Parañaque, Alabang in Muntinlupa, San Pedro in Laguna, and Imus, Bacoor and Dasmariñas in Cavite.

“The property is the biggest contiguous lot in the south of Metro Manila and is right beside Ayala Alabang so it will not have middle-income residential projects,” Villar said.

“I will not be compromising on the quality and it will have beautiful, sprawling malls and upscale residential projects,” he said, noting that the planned new CBD will be accessible via the Manila-Cavite Expressway.

According to Villar, the new CBD project will be primarily developed by the Villar Group's Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc.

He said there is no timetable yet as to when the new CBD can be started as he is still coming up with the masterplan for the project.

Villar added that small portions of the property have already been developed, which includes the SOMO Market and NOMO-A Vista Lifestyle Center, both in Bacoor.

In April, Forbes reported Villar’s net worth at $7.2 billion, which grew from $5.6 billion in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Villar was listed as the Philippines’ richest for the third year in a row, ranking 352nd. He was 286th last year. — VBL, GMA News