The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) on Sunday said it will heed and also welcome the order of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to expand the West Cebu Industrial Park-Special Economic Zone (West Cebu Estate), which will surely bring additional jobs and revenues for Cebuanos.

The Chief Executive, through a statement from the Presidential Communications Office, has designated seven parcels of land in Balamban, Cebu, for inclusion in the existing West Cebu Industrial Park- Special Economic Zone.

Under Proclamation No. 1105 issued on 4 December, President Marcos included seven parcels of land with a total aggregate area of 69,490 square meters located at Barangays Arpili and Buanoy in Balamban to the West Cebu Industrial Park- Special Economic Zone.

“We welcome this long-overdue expansion of West Cebu Industrial Park, which will pave the way for more expansion projects of Aboitiz Land, the zone developer, and its biggest locator, Tsuneishi Heavy Industries (Cebu) Inc., one of the leading medium-sized shipbuilders in the world, as well as the entry of new investors from the shipbuilding industry,” said PEZA director general Tereso Panga.

Situated on the western coast of Cebu, West Cebu Estate is the Shipbuilding Capital of the Philippines and is recognized as the Best Industrial Development in the country.

Established in 1992, this 540-hectare PEZA Special Economic Zone is a collaboration between the Aboitiz Group and Japan’s Tsuneishi Holdings, which currently hosts a variety of global enterprises, employing over 14,000 skilled Filipinos across medium to heavy industries.

“We are glad that the President has directed the concerned agencies to speed up the facilitation of WCIP’s expansion area, so the same can be proclaimed asap as a PEZA zone. We fully support WCIP and its host LGU, Balamban in Cebu, which is widely recognized as the shipbuilding capital of the Philippines,” Panga added.

The land’s inclusion in the West Cebu Industrial Park-Special Economic Zone is subject to the provisions of Republic Act 7916 or the Special Economic Zone Act of 1995, as amended by RA 8748, its Implementing Rules and Regulations, and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority Board of Directors Resolution No. 22-117 series of 2022.

In Barangay Arpili, the parcels of land included in the ecozone are covered by land titles Lot 4-A Sk-07-000192 TCT No. 113-2024000343 and Lot 1770 Sk-07-000190, TCT No. 113-2024000072.

Meanwhile, in Barangay Buanoy the included parcels of land are covered by five land titles, namely: Lot 1437-A-2-A-2 Sk-07-000191 TCT No. 113-2014000144; Lot 1437-A-2-B-2 Sk-07-000193 TCT No. 113-2014000351; Lot 1437-A-2-C-2 Sk-07-000191 TCT No. 113-2014000146; Lot 1686 Sk-07-000313 TCT No. 113-2025000701; and Lot 1695 Sk-07-000186 TCT No. 1132024000260.