Post-2021 shortfall in Metro Manila BPO office space set to boost provinces

Demand for additional office space in the Metro Manila region on the part of the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector is expected to exceed 400,000 square meters per annum over the next two years, according to Santos Knight Frank, a locally-headquartered real estate consultancy.
After 2021, however, when the government’s ban on establishing new economic zones in the region comes into effect, it is unlikely that such a level of demand could be met, a development that could see BPO operators obliged to establish new facilities in the more outlying regions of the Philippines, with Iloilo, Clark, Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro and Davao all being touted as viable alternatives. For its part, SKF estimates that at least 360,000 square meters of new office space will be available across these five provincial cities.