Megaworld to build 97-hectare Sugartown township in Talisay

Megaworld said it is developing a 97-hectare mixed-use estate called “The Sugartown” along the Bacolod–Silay Airport Road in Talisay City, Negros Occidental, positioning the project as its 37th township development nationwide.

Megaworld said The Sugartown will be its third township in Negros Occidental, following the 53-hectare Northill Gateway at the boundary of Bacolod City and Talisay City, and the 34-hectare The Upper East in the eastern part of Bacolod City.

The company said The Sugartown is designed to combine residential neighborhoods, retail and commercial activity, and tourism-driven features within a single master-planned community.

Megaworld said the township will host premium residential developments by Megaworld and its wholly owned subsidiary, Suntrust Properties Inc., alongside commercial and retail developments.

Megaworld added that the estate will be highlighted by its own town center, a commercial district, and “unique tourism facilities,” as it seeks to create a destination that attracts both residents and visitors.

The company described The Sugartown as the first township of its kind in Talisay City and said it is being planned as a comprehensive mixed-use development.

Megaworld said the project draws inspiration from the integrated estates and communities it has developed over decades, a model that has become increasingly common in Philippine urban growth corridors where work, leisure, and housing are clustered to reduce travel time.

To build The Sugartown, Megaworld said it is allocating PHP 8 billion over the next seven to 10 years for development activities.

“Our vision for this new township in Negros Occidental is to provide new opportunities to help boost tourism in the province. With its close proximity to the Bacolod-Silay Airport, this will be an exciting destination for visitors and tourists, and a vibrant enclave for residential living,” says Lourdes Gutierrez-Alfonso, president and CEO, Megaworld.

Megaworld’s strategy for the site leans heavily on access, with the company emphasizing travel times to key transport and government nodes in Negros Occidental’s capital area.

Megaworld said The Sugartown is located less than five minutes away from the Bacolod–Silay Airport and also less than five minutes away from the Talisay City Hall.

Megaworld said the township is around 15 minutes away from the Bacolod City Government Center, a major civic hub that anchors much of Bacolod’s administrative and business activity.

The company also positioned the estate as part of a wider network of its developments in the area, saying The Sugartown is a few minutes away from two other Megaworld townships.

Megaworld said the location is five minutes away from Northill Gateway and 12 minutes away from The Upper East, underscoring a clustering of large-scale projects in and around Bacolod and Talisay.

In recent years, mixed-use townships have expanded beyond Metro Manila into regional centers, particularly in provinces where airports, highways, and tourism corridors are driving new investment in housing, retai,l and hospitality.

Negros Occidental, long associated with the country’s sugar industry, has also been building a broader tourism and services economy around Bacolod’s festivals, heritage sites, food culture, and access to nearby beach and mountain destinations, making it a natural target for destination-style estates.

“With the Negros Island Region already in place, the future of this province is bright, and we have seen the rise of mixed-use developments not just in the capital but also in other towns and cities. Through this new township, our seventh in the Visayas, we are excited about how we can further contribute to regional progress, especially in tourism,” says Kevin Tan, president and CEO, Alliance Global Group, Inc., the parent company of Megaworld.

Megaworld’s reference to a “seventh in the Visayas” places The Sugartown within its broader portfolio of planned communities outside Luzon, where the company has been expanding integrated estates to capture growth in regional cities.

The company said The Sugartown’s components will include residential offerings at the premium end of the market, suggesting a focus on buyers seeking master-planned communities with proximity to an airport and access to both Bacolod and nearby towns.

Megaworld’s inclusion of Suntrust Properties Inc. signals that multiple brands under the group may be used to diversify housing formats within the township, a common approach in large estates that aim to serve different buyer segments while maintaining an overall premium positioning.

Beyond housing, Megaworld said the estate’s retail and commercial elements will be anchored by a town center and commercial district, features that typically serve as the community’s activity core and help generate foot traffic for shops, dining and services.

Megaworld also highlighted tourism facilities as a differentiator, which could align with the province’s push to lengthen visitor stays by offering new leisure nodes close to transport gateways.

The Bacolod–Silay Airport Road corridor, which links the airport to Bacolod and surrounding localities, has increasingly become a development axis, and Megaworld’s emphasis on “less than five minutes” to the airport suggests it expects accessibility to be a key selling point.

Megaworld said it expects to roll out development over a seven- to 10-year horizon, a timeline that typically reflects phased construction of residential projects and the gradual buildout of commercial areas as population within the estate grows.

The company said its material includes forward-looking statements that reflect expectations and plans, while noting that actual results could differ due to risks and uncertainties.

For Negros Occidental, the planned township adds to a growing list of large-scale developments that aim to capture demand from locals, returning residents, and investors drawn by the region’s combination of urban amenities, tourism access, and proximity to a major airport.