PROPERTY giant Megaworld Corp. has announced that it is increasing its capital spending for its township developments in Bacolod City to P45 billion, particularly in The Upper East, as it ramps up construction activities inside the 34-hectare township near the Bacolod Government Center.In 2015, the firm announced that it is pouring in P35 billion to develop two townships in Negros Occidental for the period of 10 years.These included the 50-hectare Northill Gateway at the boundary of Talisay City and Bacolod City, and The Upper East in the eastern part of the Negros Occidental capital city that used to be the Bacolod-Murcia Milling Company compound.Megaworld Visayas Vice President for Sales and Marketing Jennifer Palmares-Fong, who spoke at the opening of Upper East Avenue yesterday, April 29, said that the company is adding P10 billion to its investment for The Upper East.“We see great potential and opportunities for this new township, which is now fast rising to be Bacolod’s first modern central business district,” she added.In The Upper East, the company has already completed the construction of the 12-storey One Regis, its first residential condominium project, which is due for turnover within the year.Just recently, the company topped off the second tower, the 14-storey Two Regis, and is set to be completed next year.Two more condominium towers are in the construction pipeline, the 14-storey One Manhattan and the recently-launched 12-storey Herald Parksuites.So far, the company also has around 1,000 units inventory in The Upper East.Megaworld also formally opened the Upper East Avenue, its eight-lane main avenue inside The Upper East which Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia considers as the “most beautiful” avenue in the city.“Not only that, this is, for us, the widest street in Bacolod City,” the mayor said in his speech during the opening activity.Leonardia stressed that opening this road means a lot for Bacolodnons because more than the physical looks that it has, the symbolism that Bacolod City indeed has arrived.“The other and even more important symbolism is the fact that this represents for us our graduation from Covid. For us, this is going to represent our road to recovery,” he said.The essence of the road opening is telling people that the city is now heading towards the good time that was disrupted for a while by the pandemic, the mayor added.The Upper East Avenue is composed of six road lanes and two “on-street” parking lanes.Connecting Lopez Jaena Street to Carlos Hilado Highway, the kilometer-long avenue is positioned to ease traffic congestion on Burgos Street.It is open for both private and public vehicles, subject to the traffic rules and regulations of its own estate management group, which will deploy traffic marshals around the area.For Megaworld, the opening marks an important milestone for The Upper East as it showcases the kilometer-long stretch of the township with several areas having simultaneous construction activities.“Our first BPO office tower development, No. 1 Upper East Avenue, has also started its construction. Soon, we will also begin the construction of our commercial developments in this township. Indeed, exciting times are up ahead in The Upper East,” Palmares-Fong said.Secondary roads within The Upper East, which will be at least 20-meters wide, are also now being completed.There will also be an extensive network of bike lanes inside the township to help promote efficient and convenient mobility.Continuing its rise as the city’s first master-planned mixed-use community, The Upper East will soon have its own Megaworld Lifestyle Mall, commercial parks, hotel, church, and other institutional and recreational facilities, she added.Earlier, Leonardia expressed elation to the Megaworld management headed by its founder and chief executive officer Andrew Tan for heeding Bacolod’s call for support to its post-coronavirus disease (Covid-19) economic recovery program.”We would like to express our deep appreciation to Mr. Andrew Tan for heeding Bacolod’s call that the company pour in more investments in the city,” he said, adding that “they have been keeping their commitment of support and we sincerely thank them for that.”