Upcoming Bacolod cyber center to generate 5k jobs, earn P14B

Some 5,250 Negros residents may get business process outsourcing (BPO)-related jobs from a new cyber center being built in Bacolod City once it is completed in 2013. The cyber center is also expected to generate some P14 billion in salaries over a 15-year period, Negros Occidental Board Member Salvador Escalante said. A report on Bacolod-based Visayan Daily Star quoted Escalante, as saying at least five call center firms have already signified interest in renting space at the provincial government-built facility. Escalante, who chairs the provincial board's finance committee, added the income from the rent may reach P50 million on the first year. This will then increase every three years, and allow the cyber center to "pay" for itself in 10 years. Future income from the rentals will be used for various projects of the provincial government. Meanwhile, Escalante said the benefits from the jobs and the rentals will have a ripple effect on Negros Occidental’s economy. — LBG, GMA News