By James A. Loyola

Century Properties Group, Inc. (CPG) and the global business enterprise Mitsubishi Corporation have allotted P28 billion in capital expenditures over the next five years for the development of 15 affordable housing projects.

To kick it off, they have lined up five affordable housing projects for next year as part of its development plans to build homes worth P57 billion.

The two firms have just launched their newly-formed joint venture company PHirst Park Homes, Inc. and announced its plans to cater to the broader market of first homebuyers by rolling out 33,000 units in key locations outside of Metro Manila.

The joint venture company is 60 percent and 40 percent owned by CPG and Mitsubishi, respectively.

According to PHirst Park Homes company Ricky M. Celis, they will launch 15 masterplanned communities in Calabarzon and Central Luzon within the next 5 years. These new launches will entail capital expenditures of approximately P28 billion, of which P11 billion will be spent in the first 5 years.

“The company is also eyeing expansion into the Visayas and Mindanao regions once it has established technical and market scale, Celis said.

“We are pleased to announce this new chapter in the company’s history of serving the housing needs of our Filipino first home buyers in a much larger scale,” said Century Properties Chairman and CEO Jose E.B. Antonio.

He noted that “Mitsubishi Corporation has been instrumental in PHirst’s initial success in Tanza, Cavite. We thank Mitsubishi for its continued trust and confidence in CPG and we look forward to working with them on more projects in the future.”

“We are grateful for the trust Century Properties have bestowed on us. Our partnership started three years ago, and Century Properties Group has been very passionate and creative in every scene. With our strong relationship with Century Properties Group, we are very convinced that PHirst Park Homes will make significant contributions in addressing the housing backlog in the Philippines,” said Mitsubishi Corporation Senior Vice President and Division COO of Real Estate Business Division Takuya Kuga.