Andrew Tan-led Megaworld Corp. reported a net income of P6.03 billion in the first half of the year, up 11 percent year-on-year.

The growth was driven by the expansion of its township developments not only in Metro Manila but also in the provinces.

Megaworld treasurer Francis Canuto said the government’s thrust to expand economic opportunities to the regions is parallel to the company’s  direction in expanding its developments outside of Metro Manila where the company is already strong.

“The beauty behind our diversification story is that it is intrinsically part of our drive toward nation building— we bring growth where we are headed,” he said.

Rental income from offices, malls and commercial centers remained the primary contributor to the sharp growth in first half earnings, contributing P4.84 billion or an increase of 15 percent from the year earlier.

From now until 2020, the company is set to deliver around 150,000 square meters of office spaces and around 75,000 sqm of commercial spaces annually.

The company is also on track to hit its goal of breaching the one million sqm mark in terms of total leasable space this year, and expects to double that by the end of 2020.

Megaworld earlier announced it was mapping out the so-called “Visayas BPO Triangle” by strengthening its office developments in the key cities of Iloilo, Cebu and Bacolod.

By 2020, the property firm expects to have eight new office towers in Iloilo Business Park, The Mactan Newtown and The Upper East in Bacolod which will boost its total office portfolio to roughly 200,000 square meters in the Visayas BPO Triangle.

The so-called Visayas BPO Triangle is seen to generate around 50,000 direct jobs in the BPO sector.

Revenues of the Megaworld Group, which includes subsidiary brands Global-Estate Resorts Inc. (GERI), Empire East Land Holdings Inc. and Suntrust Properties amounted to P23.03 billion during the period, five percent higher than the year ago.