Fort Bonifacio, also called "Global City", is a highly urbanized district in Taguig City, part of Metro Manila. The distict is named after the main Philippine military camp, Fort Andres Bonifacio. In recent years, it has experienced a real "an economic boom", thanks to the sale of military land. Today, Fort Bonifacio is an affluent developing neighbourhood with a huge number of skyscrapers.
The history of the district began at a time when control of the Philippines belonged to the Americans - the US government then acquired 25.7 square kilometres of land in the Taguig City for military use. This area was converted into a military camp named Fort William McKinley in honour of the 25th President of the United States. After the Philippines gained independence in 1946, the U.S. ceded to the newly formed Republic of the Philippines all rights to own and administration of the entire territory of the country with the exception of military bases. It wasn't until 1949, Fort McKinley was turned over to the Philippine government, and in 1957 it became the permanent headquarters of the Philippine Army. At that time, it was also renamed Fort Bonifacio in honour of revolutionary Andres Bonifacio, who fought the Spanish.
Today, the Fort Bonifacio neighbourhood is home to many upscale residential high-end residential developments such as Essence, Serenda, Pacific Plaza Towers, Bonifacio Ridges, as well as office buildings. Most of the ultra-trendy restaurants, bars, clubs and boutiques are in the centre of the district, as are major shopping malls like "Market! Market!" and "City Taguig". Moreover, many multinational corporations are buying land here, and some are relocating their regional and national offices here, such as Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard, TetraPack, etc. In 2009, the 16-storey St. Luke's Medical Centre was opened, one of the most technologically advanced hospitals in the country. A large stadium and convention palace are under construction, which will include a hotel, an office building, a shopping centre and a food court. In the northern part of Fort Bonifacio, construction is underway on the 250-meter Federal Land Tower skyscraper, which will be one of the tallest in the Philippines.
To the south of Fort Bonifacio is the small community of McKinley Hill - 50 hectares of land is home to residential, office, and retail buildings geared towards an international clientele. The British Embassy and the Embassy of the Republic of Korea British Embassy and the Embassy of the Republic of Korea.
The Fort Bonifacio district and its surroundings will be of interest not only to the business community, but also to tourists - there is a lot to see here. For example, in 2001, the Heritage Memorial Park was opened, occupying an area of 76 hectares. At the Cemetery of Heroes are buried 33520 Filipino soldiers who died during the World War II. It also houses the remains of the presidents of the Philippines, national heroes and other honoured citizens. In the cemetery are the Memorials to those who died in the Vietnam War and the Korean War. The area is also home to the American Cemetery and the American War Memorial - more than 17 thousand American soldiers killed in the Philippines and New Guinea in World War II are buried here.
