INVESTMENTS of various kinds like property have never stopped to come in to Davao despite the ensuing Covid-19 pandemic. In fact, Lamudi listed it as the second most popular provincial city or real-estate hot spot outside Metro Manila in 2020 based on overall page views of property seekers using the online property portal.
Plans for city designs will allow people enjoy urban mobility and walkability, while experiencing many cultural and socio-economic benefits, more efficient mass transportation, and greener sustainable communities, thus, making Davao as one of top global livable, sustainable cities like Copenhagen, New York, Hong Kong, Toronto and Vienna.
Principal Architect-Urban Planner and Founder of Palafox Associates Felino “Jun” Palafox Jr., who has created city blueprint designs for over 40 countries, explained how making Davao among the world’s sustainable and livable cities can redefine it.
“We hope to change the paradigm: Mindanao as not just the backdoor of the Philippines but the front door of the Philippines. Open spaces are the lungs of the city. The rethinking now because of the pandemic, we already implemented in Metro Davao from the master plan. Our proposals for the region should be polycentric, and not monocentric,” he said during the virtual launch of the 6th Davao Investment Conference (Davao ICon 2021).
Leechiu Property Consultants Inc. Chief Executive Officer David Leechiu tackled one vital trend that has made Davao region a major player: He said: “The biggest success factor is the rise of Davao tycoons. The amount has been unprecedented and I think that will continue beyond this administration.”
The new landscape, according to him, will have investors more confident of the city such that they will double their investments there. He added that old investors might take a wait-and-see move, “but the affinity of Muslim investors will make an immediate difference for Davao.”
Meanwhile, Jones Lang LaSalle Philippines Inc. Country Head Christophe Vicic noted that Davao has “a clear growth strategy. Let us combine what Davao has as key success factors from other good cities and bring them forward as the Davao-Mindanao story.”
Per Davao ICon 2021 Chairman Ricardo Lagdameo, the city has become ripe not only for property developments, but also for many types of investments like learning, tourism and agri-business.
“During the pandemic, [these and other] industries continue to thrive and are still operating,” he pointed out. “Investing in Davao can take us to the future. The only way we can get to showcase investment opportunity is to focus on the whole Davao region.”
Agreeing with him, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio underscored the region’s vast opportunities for growth and development in the above-mentioned sectors.
“We will need these economic pillars as we continue to move forward and cement the region’s role in the Philippines and in the Asean [Association of South East Asian Nations] community. Let us continue to work together so that the Davao region which is strong today, emerges stronger tomorrow.”