FPIP Batangas commercial center expected to open by early 2026

FIRST PHILIPPINE Industrial Park (FPIP) is building a three-story mixed-use hub in Santo Tomas, Batangas, which is expected to boost employment at the economic zone from the current staffing level of over 70,000.

FPIP Plaza will offer 15,000 square meters of space for retailers, restaurants, service centers, corporate offices, and government offices upon completion.

Targeted for launch by the first quarter of 2026, FPIP’s development partners are construction firm First Balfour and architectural firm Aidea.

FPIP Chief Commercial Officer and First Balfour Deputy Chief Operating Officer Jose Valentin A. Pantangco said that the plaza is meant to serve as a gathering place for the surrounding barangays.

“It will continue to support the mission of FPIP — to create jobs, strengthen industry, and modernize the two cities of Sto. Tomas and Tanauan, and make Batangas the prime industrial corridor of the Philippines,” Mr. Pantangco said in a statement over the weekend.

Batangas Rep. Ma. Theresa V. Collantes welcomed the project and said it will help boost business within the province.

“I can already see the impending growth of the local economy, the creation of even more work opportunities, the flourishing of surrounding businesses, the placement of more investment, and the strengthening of the position of FPIP and its partners,” Ms. Collantes said.

FPIP is a Philippine Economic Zone Authority-registered economic zone that hosts over 150 locators, which include Collins Aerospace, the Philippine Manufacturing Co. unit of Murata, Inc., and Dyson.

The construction of the mixed-use project officially broke ground on Sept. 10, First Balfour said in a statement. — Justine Irish D. Tabile