THE provincial government of Camarines Sur has launched CamSur Uptown, a 200-hectare master-planned global city that is envisioned to be a seat for business, governance and investments outside the national capital and an infrastructure hub for information technology (IT).
‘CamSur Uptown promises to be even better than the Bonifacio Global City [BGC] as it is envisioned to become a premier hub for business, technology, governance and investments that will bring digital education, modern or hi-tech jobs and now untrodden possibilities for high growth,’ said Gov. Luis Raymund Villafuerte at he grand opening ceremony of project on Friday night.
‘It will be a place where we will invest heavily in health and livelihood, creating for Camsureños a future where economic growth is robust, sustainable, shared and inclusive,’ Villafuerte said.
Among the business leaders and investors present at the formal launch were Xentro Group of Companies Chairman Alexander Cruz, Green Xentro Chief Executive Officer Noel Ignacio, and Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) President-CEO Michael de Jesus.
Also present were Vice Gov. Sal Fortuno, the Sanggunian Panlalawigan (SP) members; CamSur Reps. Migz Villafuerte, Luigi Villafuerte and Tsuyoshi Anthony Horibata; and Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon.
Villafuerte said that CamSur Uptown will ‘epitomize the economic transformation of our province and our people, and it will be the next financial tech hub in Luzon, with banks, financial technology companies [fintechs]and BPO [business process outsourcing]firms already expressing interest in setting up shop there-on the strength of CamSur’s forward-looking local governance, smart regulation and business-friendly leadership.’
The master plan for CamSur Uptown covers barangays Cadlan, San Jose and Sagurong in the province’s capital town of Pili.
The iconic, pili nut-shaped Provincial Capitol, which is nearing completion, is at the center of CamSur Uptown, a smart city that will feature not just a digital campus, artificial intelligence (AI) laboratory and logistics and manufacturing facilities but also mixed-use commercial buildings, resorts and parks, medical and lifestyle centers and a golf course.
CamSur is putting up there the country’s first ever local government-partnered, state-of-the-art Digital Transformation Center (DTC) with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) that will propel the province into a ‘premier hub for world-class IT infrastructure’ in the Philippines, according to Villafuerte.
‘This planned digital campus will mark a historic milestone as the first Level 4 flagship facility that the DICT is putting up in partnership with a provincial LGU under the Department’s Tech4ED-DTC program,’ Villafuerte said.
Earlier, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) green-lighted an almost seven-hectare special economic zone (SEZ) at the CamSur Uptown, in a development that will clear the way to an even larger stream of capital into this province that is becoming one of the country’s investment magnets outside Metro Manila.
Also part of the CamSur Uptown Global City Development is the tech-focused School of the Future, which is nearing completion and will soon be equipped with world-class facilities designed to upskill young Camsureños in digital technology, AI, data analytics, cybersecurity and other future-ready know-how to enable them to compete, innovate and lead in the global cyberspace.
Right after this year’s breakthrough run of tennis ace Alex Eala in world tennis, Gov. Villafuerte had invited corporations, sports groups and investors to partner with the provincial government in putting up the country’s first-ever tennis academy at CamSur Uptown, with an eye to nurturing more world-class Filipino athletes in Eala’s mold in this racket sport.
Villafuerte wants his proposed tennis academy at CamSur Uptown to be on the par with the premier Rafa Nadal Academy, which was founded in 2016 by Rafael Nadal-once ranked Number 1 in men’s singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP)-in his hometown of Manacor in Mallorca, Spain, and where Eala trained from the age of 13 until she finished her studies at the academy in 2023.