Megaworld revives Iloilo airport landmark, expands renewable energy

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

ILOILO CITY — Property developer Megaworld Corp. has unveiled a replica of the Old Iloilo Airport control tower inside Iloilo Business Park while completing the shift of more company-owned properties in the township to 100% renewable energy.

The 12-foot Old Iloilo Airport Control Tower Replica stands along the path where the former airport’s runway once stretched.

The replica is the third dedicated monument within Megaworld’s 72-hectare Iloilo Business Park and forms part of the township’s IBP Art Trail, which features installations highlighting Iloilo’s history, culture, and identity.

The structure is patterned after the original control tower of Mandurriao Airport, which began operating as Iloilo’s domestic gateway in 1937.

The airport served Iloilo and Panay Island for decades before it was decommissioned on June 14, 2007, when commercial operations transferred to the new Iloilo International Airport in Cabatuan.

The old airport also figured in major historical events, serving as an airfield during World War II and as the landing site for Pope John Paul II during his 1981 visit to Iloilo.

“The Old Iloilo Airport Control Tower Replica is our way of marking a site that witnessed decades of flights and historic milestones. Today, Iloilo Business Park stands on this very ground, continuing that role by helping drive the local economy through job opportunities in retail, commerce, business, and tourism,” said Don Earl Caagbay, Megaworld’s Head of Estate Management.

Wilfredo Sy Jr., executive director of the Iloilo City Local Culture and Arts Council, said preserving heritage means keeping a place’s identity and memory alive as it develops.

“As the IBP stands today as a bustling symbol of our economic resurgence, this replica of the old Iloilo control tower serves as an essential anchor. It reminds us that progress is best when rooted in memory,” Sy said.

Jay Treñas, executive assistant to the mayor, represented Iloilo City Mayor Raisa Treñas-Chu during the unveiling.

Treñas said the former airport remains part of the personal memories of many Ilonggos.

“This was where many of us welcomed loved ones arriving in Iloilo. It was where families gathered before a trip, where we said our goodbyes, and where many journeys began. The airport may have moved, but the memories attached to it remain with us,” he said.

Treñas said seeing a version of the old control tower near its former location brought those memories back.

“We are seeing a familiar part of our past given a new place in the Iloilo of today. And I think there is something beautiful about that,” he said.

Treñas also emphasized the importance of retaining Iloilo’s historical narratives as the city continues to grow.

“Iloilo City has changed through the years. The old airport site has become a center for business, tourism, and new opportunities, but as our city grows, we also have to make sure that the stories that shape us remain part of that growth,” Treñas said.

The former airport site has since been transformed into Iloilo Business Park, Megaworld’s mixed-use township in Mandurriao.

The township is home to about 13 office towers, three hotels with nearly 1,000 rooms, residential condominium towers offering nearly 2,500 units, and retail, arts, and convention facilities.

Its major developments include Richmonde Hotel Iloilo, Courtyard by Marriott Iloilo, the newly opened Belmont Hotel Iloilo, Festive Walk Mall, Festive Walk Parade, the Iloilo Museum of Contemporary Art, the Brandy Museum, and the Iloilo Convention Center.

Megaworld has also incorporated other historical and cultural elements into Iloilo Business Park.

These include Plaza Delgado, located across the Iloilo Museum of Contemporary Art and named in honor of Ilonggo revolutionary leader Gen. Martin Delgado, and the 12-meter Pagsinapol landmark, which pays tribute to Iloilo’s culture, creativity, and community.

Beyond Iloilo, Megaworld has incorporated heritage-inspired elements into other developments, including The Upper East House in Bacolod, which draws inspiration from the white mansion that once stood at the former Bacolod-Murcia Milling Co. site.

At The Mactan Newtown in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, Megaworld is also developing the Mactan World Museum, which the company said will showcase the island’s cultural and historical significance through galleries and life-size statues of King Philip II, Ferdinand Magellan, and Lapu-Lapu.

Renewable energy shift

Alongside the heritage project, Megaworld said it has completed the transition of its company-owned office, hotel, and retail properties inside Iloilo Business Park to 100% renewable energy.

The latest transition covers 10 office towers and Richmonde Hotel Iloilo, which now source their electricity requirements from renewable energy through Megaworld’s partnership with First Gen Corp.

The properties include One Global Center Towers A and B, Two Global Center Towers A and B, One Techno Place Towers A and B, Richmonde Tower, Two Techno Place, and Three Techno Place Towers A and B.

They join other Megaworld-owned properties in the township that had previously shifted to renewable energy, including One Fintech Place, Two Fintech Place, Festive Walk Mall, Festive Walk Parade, and Courtyard by Marriott Iloilo.

“Our goal is to make sustainability an integral part of how we build and manage our townships, and the transition of our properties in Iloilo Business Park to renewable energy is an important step in that direction,” said Jose Arnulfo Batac, Megaworld’s head of sustainability.

Batac said First Gen’s role as Megaworld’s renewable energy partner helps make the properties “cleaner and more sustainable.”

The Iloilo transition forms part of MEGreen, Megaworld’s company-wide sustainability program launched in 2023 to consolidate its environmental initiatives under a platform aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Megaworld said its partnership with First Gen also covers the planned transition of 74 additional company-owned developments to renewable energy nationwide.

These include office towers, lifestyle malls, commercial buildings, and select residential properties under subsidiaries Global-Estate Resorts Inc. and Empire East Land Holdings Inc.

The properties are in Megaworld townships including McKinley Hill, McKinley West, Newport City, Alabang West, Arcovia City, and Uptown Bonifacio in Metro Manila; Davao Park District in Davao City; and The Mactan Newtown in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu.

Megaworld has said it also plans to shift non-contestable properties, including assets under its subsidiaries and joint ventures, to renewable energy by 2030. citeturn207859search9

The heritage and energy initiatives reflect Megaworld’s broader effort to pair redevelopment of the former Mandurriao Airport site with historical commemoration and sustainability measures in Iloilo Business Park.