NAIS ni Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) Director General Tereso Panga na doblehin ang bilang ng rehistradong economic zones sa susunod na taon.
Sa year-end press briefing ng Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) noong weekend, sinabi ni Panga na target ng PEZA ang karagdagang 30 ecozones sa 2025.
Aniya, karamihan sa developers ay pinupuntiryang magtayo ng ecozones sa Calabarzon at Central Luzon regions, at Cebu province, subalit isinusulong din ng PEZA ang development sa rural areas.
“We (would) like to see more ecozones being developed in Mindanao. So the ones that make a big push for these are agriculture. They are more into resource seeking type(s) of investments, agriculture including green ores,” sabi ni Panga.
Ayon sa PEZA chief, tinatarget din ng investment promotion agency ang karagdagang information technology parks sa labas ng metropolitan areas at magtungo sa susunod na wave cities at municipalities.
Aniya, ang isang investment upang mag-develop ng isang 25-hectare ecozone ay nagkakahalaga ng P1 billion hanggang P2 billion.
“The challenge now is how we can provide for readily available areas so when we get investors inquiring on site selection. If you don’t have land to offer them, especially economic zones, then easily like that, we lose them to other competitors in the region,” dagdag pa ni Panga.
Sa parehong briefing ay sinabi ni DTI Secretary Ma. Cristina Roque na nais ng kanyang administrasyon na isama ang micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) sa ecozone supply chain.
Hinikayat ni Roque ang MSMEs na maghanap ng mga oportunidad na magkaroon ng operasyon sa loob ng PEZA zones upang makatanggap sila ng mga insentibo at makipagpartner sa iba pang ecozone locators.
“So, it’s something that we need to push aggressively to create awareness on what DTI has to offer to these MSMEs,” ani Roque.
“We are very supportive of the plan on how to integrate more MSMEs into the ecozone value chain.
To do that, we really have to support the creation of ecozones in the countryside. They go hand in hand with MSME development including in the countryside.”
Ngayong taon ay iprinoklama ni Presidente Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. ang 16 karagdagang ecozones.