CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Cagayan de Oro is thriving. The gateway to Northern Mindanao, which boasts of economic dynamism, geographical advantage, and all the amenities of a modern urban center, has emerged as one of the nation’s leading venues for commerce, investments, and real estate projects. Indeed, the city has now earned itself new accolades from none other than the real estate leaders themselves through record-setting investments in the area. Megaworld, a real estate behemoth listed in the stock market, has upped its stakes in the city with a thirty-percent hike in its capital expenditures to a record-high P65 billion in 2026.
Upper Central: A P5‑Billion Township in the Heart of CDO
The cornerstone of Megaworld Corporation's move to Mindanao is represented by the project called Upper Central. It is the corporation’s thirty-fifth township in the country and represents the latest addition to their series of developments in the city of Cagayan de Oro. This large-scale project is a joint undertaking by the leisure business segment of the firm, named Global-Estate Resorts, Inc. (GERI). GERI has invested a total of P5 billion worth of funding into the project, which is set to run for the next decade in order to realize the full potential of the land parcel. Upper Central spans a total of 107 hectares of land property in J.R. Borja Road. The project is situated along the barangays of Gusa and Indahag, where it will provide residents and guests with magnificent panoramas of Macajalar Bay alongside the profile of the Malasag Mountain Range.
A Live‑Work‑Play Community with Green Spaces
Upper Central is designed as a mixed‑use, live‑work‑play community. It will feature residential villages, a pedestrianized commercial and shophouse district, mixed‑use developments, a town center, a central park, viewing decks, mountain and bike trails, and an adventure park. Approximately forty percent of the township’s total land area is dedicated to green and open spaces, including roads, aligning with Megaworld’s push for more sustainable and livable communities. For Cagayan de Oro residents and investors, this development promises a new standard of integrated urban living.
CDO at the Center of Megaworld’s 2026 Launch Pipeline
Megaworld is scheduled to launch nineteen residential townships nationwide in 2026. Notable among these is Upper Central, which is among those remarkable marquee projects outside Metro Manila towns that demonstrate the immense confidence of Megaworld in the rapidly growing economy of Cagayan de Oro with its emerging middle-class population. It is expected to generate significant job opportunities for the locals in several industries such as construction, retail, property management, and more.
Hospitality and Smart Living Innovations Extend to CDO
While Megaworld has five hotels under construction across the country, the company has indicated that its hospitality expansion model could be replicated in Cagayan de Oro as Upper Central matures. The company is targeting more than nine thousand hotel room keys within the next three years, and industry observers see potential for a branded hotel within the Upper Central township.
In line with the advent of smart living, Megaworld has partnered with the world’s leading innovator of technologies, Samsung, in introducing artificial intelligence-based houses. The key focus of the partnership will be the implementation of the Samsung SmartThings technology for select homes, but with plans to expand into future projects as well. In the coming years, Megaworld anticipates that its provincial townhouses such as Upper Central in Cagayan de Oro will be enabled with these smart home amenities. With this plan, it will allow future residents of CDO to regulate their air conditioning, lights, and several other functionalities using one simple application.
CEO’s Outlook: Renewed Optimism for CDO and Beyond
Megaworld president and chief executive officer Lourdes Gutierrez‑Alfonzo said the company is seeing opportunities ahead and looks forward to sustained growth in the office, commercial, hospitality, and tourism sectors. She noted that Megaworld is continuing its expansion program with renewed optimism as it innovates its township offerings, adding that residential business remains a strong growth engine. For Cagayan de Oro, this means Upper Central is poised to become a model for future tech‑enabled, green townships in the region.
CDO’s Rise as a Premier Investment Destination
With Cagayan de Oro’s strong economic fundamentals, strategic location, and growing middle class, industry observers believe Upper Central will accelerate the city’s transformation into one of Mindanao’s premier metropolitan centers. As one local investor put it, Cagayan de Oro is among the most progressive cities in the country and is expected to climb the rankings as time goes by. Megaworld’s multi‑billion peso bet on the city only reinforces that trajectory.
