THE Mindanao Development Authority (Minda) is set to convene Mindanao’s economic zone (Ecozone) investors this October at the Grand Regal Hotel, Lanang, Davao City to plan and create joint programs to promote ecozones to potential locators in the island.
Minda Chief of the Investment Promotion Division Ernie Tomas Jr. told VoxPop Davao in a phone interview on Tuesday, September 27, that they have invited some 40 investors to the forum.
Tomas said that the event seeks to draw out issues that are affecting their performance and come up with unified program to market and strengthen the ecozones and lure locators.
“The biggest problem that we are facing is that we have ecozones but we lack locators,” Tomas said.
The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) is the agency assigned to proclaim Special Ecozones.
According to its website, it is tasked to promote investments, extend assistance, register, grant incentives to and facilitate the business operations of investors in export-oriented manufacturing and service facilities inside selected areas throughout the country which are identified as ecozones.
Heidi Villanueva of the Ecozone Planning Group in Minda bared last Monday at the Kapehan Sa Dabaw in SM City-Annex that Mindanao has presently 80 proclaimed ecozones, some are operating while others are developing.
Of the figure, 26 of these ecozones are focused on the Information Technology-Business Process Management (IT- BPM) industry, 20 agro-industries, 28 manufacturing industry, four tourism sector, and the rest on medical tourism.
Villanueva said 90 percent of these ecozones are being managed by the private sector.
Asked on why finding locators is among the major setbacks on ecozones here, Tomas said peace and order situation and lack of awareness of the existence of ecozones are among the reasons.
To address this, Tomas said, intensified promotion on ecozones is needed.
Tomas also said that they are rooting on the present administration’s mandate, that is, to establish ecozones outside Metro Manila to disperse growth in the country.
Villanueva said Minda has been doing consultations in Region 11 and 12 to promote these ecozones.
Minda is also promoting manufacturing and tourism-related ecozones.
Some of the ecozones in Mindanao are Davao Industrial Estates in Panabo City, Hijo Resources in Tagum City, Ciudades in Davao City, Davao South Marina and Industrial Park in Malita, Davao Occidental and Davao South Greenspace Eco-Industrial Park in Sta. Cruz, among others.
Meanwhile, Villanueva said that Minda has a Mindanao Development Corridors Program necessary to identify possible areas for new ecozones.
