The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) announced its collaboration with the Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) to explore the development of a Self-Generating Industrial Park (SGIP), particularly in off-grid areas across Visayas and Mindanao.

PNOC earlier stated that feasibility studies for this initiative, in partnership with PEZA, the National Power Corporation (NPC), and the Department of Energy (DOE), will begin this year.

In a Facebook post on Monday, PEZA Director General Tereso Panga emphasized that with PNOC, NPC, and DOE working together to provide cost-effective and sustainable energy solutions to geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDA), PEZA can support this strategy by establishing ecozones that are self-sufficient in essential utilities such as power and water. These utilities are critical in the manufacturing process of finished products.

“The PNOC-coined SGIP is akin to PEZA’s Renewable Energy Park (REP) model that generates its energy inside the zone. Pursuant to the eco-industrial development framework, PEZA aims to push for ecozones that have an embedded renewable or alternative energy generation/distribution facilities, and subscribe to energy efficiency, low carbon and micro-grid systems. The common goal of SGIPs and REPs is to provide for an adequate, reliable, affordable power supply to locator companies that will engage in clean and green production,” Panga stated.

By targeting off-grid islands in Visayas and Mindanao for SGIPs, Panga noted that the initiative aligns with PEZA’s mandate to develop ecozones in rural and emerging growth areas.

Currently, PEZA oversees the operations of 427 economic zones nationwide: 300 in Luzon, 85 in Visayas, and 42 in Mindanao.

A recent report by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on the top 10 largest provincial economies (outside Metro Manila) showed that the wealthiest provinces are predominantly in Luzon, except for Cebu, which ranked sixth. All these provinces host ecozones.

“Thus, PEZA wants to prioritize ecozone development in isolated/off-grid areas in Visayas and Mindanao islands — including energy connectivity to stimulate economic growth through their integration into the ecozone value chain,” Panga said.

He further emphasized that a key objective of SGIPs is to transform the industrial landscape of the Philippines and attract energy-intensive industries such as agro-processing, semiconductor, and electric vehicle manufacturing.

“These are the most promising, strategic, and high-impact sectors across ASEAN. For this purpose, PEZA and PNOC have teamed up in evaluating the government-initiated SGIP in Tawi-Tawi. The provincial government — together with the host municipalities, national and regional government offices, BARMM officials, local and foreign investors, and other stakeholders — have all expressed their full support for the project,” he said.

Among those in the visiting delegation was Pertamina, a global LNG player and the third-largest crude oil producer in Indonesia. The company is currently studying the feasibility of establishing an LNG-powered generation facility to address energy challenges in Tawi-Tawi and to jumpstart the proposed SGIP in an off-grid area.

During the inter-agency planning and stakeholders’ consultation meeting, Panga said all participants expressed unanimous support for the SGIP, with aqua/agro-processing and eco-tourism identified as priority industries for investment attraction.

More BARMM ecozones

Panga also highlighted that PEZA is assisting the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) with capacity building and training to establish more ecozones in Tawi-Tawi and other provinces under its jurisdiction.

“For Tawi-Tawi, we are exploring the Aqua-Marine park model to allow for mariculture, marine energy generation, and hydrogen/oxygen production (for refueling of marine vessels given Tawi-Tawi’s strategic location as a transshipment hub in the region). Mariculture is most promising as it involves the farming of marine organisms for food and other products such as pharmaceuticals, food additives, dietary supplements, animal feed, cosmetics, jewelry (e.g., cultured pearls), among others,” he said.

Tawi-Tawi, known as the "Seaweed Capital of the Philippines" and the "Carrageenan Capital of the World," is the country’s leading seaweed producer. Through the Aqua-Marine Park, the integrated processing of seaweed and other aquatic resources can now be done in Tawi-Tawi.

“This will also attract our ecozone locators into processing of carrageenan and other global investors to set up facilities in Tawi-Tawi. This province is ripe for becoming the next frontier in ecozone development and as a prime investment destination in the BIMP-EAGA area,” Panga said.

In 2022, Tawi-Tawi was among the top 10 fastest-growing economies in the country in terms of the Gross Value Added Growth Rate in Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing.