MALVAR, Batangas -- The new Batangas State University campus inside LIMA Estate is being positioned as more than an education facility, with Aboitiz Economic Estates seeing it as a way to attract new investments and create more jobs in Batangas.

Aboitiz Economic Estates president and chief executive officer Rafael Fernandez de Mesa said putting an engineering university within an operating industrial estate gives companies considering the Philippines access to a stronger pool of skilled workers.

“Ours is very different. We’re putting a university here so that we can attract investment into the Philippines because we have the talent. That’s the value proposition,” Fernandez de Mesa said.

The Batangas State University-LIMA Campus formally opened Monday, 17 August, with 993 first-year engineering students expected to begin classes at the interim facility. A permanent campus is planned on a 10-hectare site within LIMA Estate.

Fernandez de Mesa said the availability of engineers and technical professionals could encourage more companies to locate in LIMA, supporting further expansion and job creation.

LIMA currently hosts more than 200 companies and about 75,000 workers. He projected that employment could eventually reach around 250,000 as the estate expands and attracts more technology-intensive industries.

“That’s inclusive of the current 75,000,” he said.

The estate is also expanding beyond traditional manufacturing. Lima Tower 1, for instance, is attracting information technology-business process management companies and could house nearly 4,000 workers once fully operational.

Fernandez de Mesa said the changing nature of industry makes it critical to develop talent that can keep pace with new technologies and help the country capture investments in semiconductors, artificial intelligence and data-related industries.

“That’s where it becomes critical for us to be able to develop the talent that will evolve together with industry,” he said.

Batangas State University, the country’s National Engineering University, has more than 60,000 students across 12 campuses, with about 48 percent enrolled in engineering and technology programs. The LIMA partnership will connect students with industry through applied learning, internships, research and professional placements.