A third potential locator had expressed its commitment to start a project at the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport Authority in less than a month.

At the simple ceremony of the signing of the investment agreement, early evening Tuesday at Luxent Hotel in Quezon City, APECO president and CEO Gil Taway IV, said the entry of the third new investor, the APG International Aviation Academy, or APGIAA is a sign that investors saw that the economic zone “is a prime location for growth, best location to build and expand business.”

“I want our message to be clear: APECO is primed for growth. My team is ready and able to find the best way to integrate your business into our portfolio. APECO is the best location to build, to grow, and to expand your business and we know that there is a place for any company that shares our vision of a brighter Filipino tomorrow with APECO,” Taway said in welcoming officials of APGIAA.

Capt. Arnel Miguel, APGIAA president, on the other end, said their academy in 1999 has established itself as a leading school offering unique, low-cost, multidisciplinary programs for success in the international aviation industry and has produced more than 3,000 graduates (mostly foreign students) in the country “who have seen rapid success in their careers.”

Pilot academy

“Education is APGIAA’s life-long commitment. Our mission is an excellent, competitively affordable education for our students using a curriculum that integrates the latest technological innovations with the social skills that would enable them to succeed in an increasingly dynamic and demanding industry. Expanding to the east of the country through APECO will help us reach more Filipinos who dream of becoming a world-class pilot,” Miguel explained.

He added that moving to APECO is the academy’s way of expanding the flying school business to accommodate more students, foreign or local. The first academy is in Subic Free Port experiencing an influx of 1,000 foreign students mostly Indians since 2007.