Thirteen pending economic zone projects with a combined project cost of P18 billion are pending proclamation by the Office of the President, according to Tereso Panga, officer-in-charge of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA).
Panga said in a statement seven of these are manufacturing ecozones, two are information technology parks/centers and one is a knowledge, innovation, science, and technology park, and one agro-industrial ecozone which are all located outside Metro Manila.
According to Panga, one has been endorsed to the Office of President while 12 have been endorsed to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
Panga reported this at a consultative meeting with the Philippine Ecozones Associations (PHILEA) where its president Francisco Zaldarriaga shared that from 1995 to March 2022 total investments in ecozones stood at P1.13 trillion, generated $411 billion in exports, and employed 378,395 workers.”
According to Panga, the Light Industry & Science Park closed a project with a data center with P3.4 billion of investments. Another big-ticket investment is currently in talks with Suntrust.
Meanwhile, DTI Secretary Alfredo Pascual has tasked investment promotion agencies (IPAs) to coordinate their efforts towards attracting investments that will achieve the country’s industrialization strategy.
Pascual, chair of the Inter-Agency Investment Promotion Coordination Committee (IIPCC) convened the body’s inaugural meeting and presented concrete actions needed to improve the country’s foreign direct investments.
The DTI did not enumerate what the concrete actions are but said these are meant “to strengthen investment opportunities through enhanced cooperation and underscored support to the country’s industrialization strategy.”
The IIPCC was established through the passage of the Republic Act No. 11647 or the amended Foreign Investment Act , under which the IIPCC was mandated to integrate all promotion and facilitation efforts to encourage foreign investments in the country. – Irma Isip
