13 new ecozones under dev’t — PEZA
‘These pending ecozones are expected to bring in investments amounting to nearly P18 billion or P17,924,887,016.72 billion’
The Philippine Economic Zone Authority has revealed that a total of 13 economic zones seen to bring investments amounting to over P17 billion into government coffers, will soon be set up in the country,
In a meeting with Philippine Ecozones Associations, PEZA officer-in-charge director general Tereso Panga said pending economic zones are at 13, with 12 that were already endorsed to the Department of Trade and Industry, as of October 2022.
"PEZA currently has 13 pending economic zones, one of which is already endorsed to the Office of President Marcos, while 12 are endorsed to the DTI," he said.
"These 13 pending ecozones are expected to bring in investments amounting to nearly P18 billion or P17,924,887,016.72 billion," added Panga.
For the breakdown, he said there are seven pending manufacturing ecozones — two for IT Parks Centers, one for the Knowledge, Innovation, Science, and Technology Park, and one Agro-industrial ecozone which are all located outside Metro Manila.
Upturn projected
Moreover, Panga said he is confident that in 2022, "there will be an upturn as the government has been getting big-ticket projects "enough to recover and even surpass our 2019 (investment) levels."
On the other hand, PHILEA President Chito Zaldarriaga shared that from 1995 to March 2022, "total investments from PHILEA ecozones is approximately P1.13 trillion, generated $ 411 billion in exports, and employed 378,395 workers."
"Just last month, the LISP (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," Panga added.
Meanwhile, at the recent investment forum in Taiwan and South Korea, Panga said big-ticket projects from Taiwan and South Korea are ready to apply and register with PEZA.
With aggressive investment promotions, Panga is hopeful that "the 6 to 7 percent target for 2022 is attainable and we must also continuously work with other agencies to promote the creation of more ecozones, particularly in the countryside and new growth areas."