PEZA promotes ecozones in Sarangani 

PEZA recently visited the Kamanga Agro-Industrial Ecozone (KAIEZ) to check on the status of operations of the ecozone developer and its locator companies. This is part of the agency’s strict monitoring and consultation process with its valued ecozone investors to ensure PEZA's prompt delivery of services and assistance to their company operations. As a leading investment promotion agency, PEZA is committed to providing the best location and business ecosystem for investors.

Employing a whole-of-government approach, PEZA Director General Tereso O. Panga, together with KAIEDC Vice President Anton Hechanova, met with the Mayor of Maasim Municipality for the needed regulatory coherence and cooperation as they jointly promote and facilitate investments in Maasim and KAIEZ. With an investor-friendly LGU like Maasim, PEZA is better empowered to promote the ecozone program that continuously generates investments, jobs, exports, and other economic opportunities for the host LGUs and other adjoining areas.

In a recent PSA report on the 10 richest areas in the country outside Metro Manila and Cebu City, it was shown that 9 out of the 10 richest LGUs in the list (except for Batanes at no. 10) are all hosting ecozones. With the growth prospects of ecozones and industries in Maasim and Sarangani Province, there is no doubt that these LGUs will soon make it among the richest and most progressive areas in the country.

KAIEZ

KAIEZ is a 91.7-hectare industrial park located in Barangay Kamanga, Maasim, Sarangani Province. A unique investment attraction of this ecozone is that it has its own power plant, embedded power and water distribution system, sewage treatment plant using aeration and settling process with a storage capacity of about 30,000 cubic meters, and a dedicated jetty terminal with a berthing draft of 25 meters.

Among KAIEZ’s notable locators are Panhua Integrated Steel, Inc. (PISI) and Sarangani Energy Corporation (SEC). PISI is registered with PEZA as an export enterprise engaged in the production of various steel materials and billets for cold-rolling, automobiles, and construction with a capital investment of PhP 10.5 billion. This company, which employs heat capture power generation technology, is aiming to start commercial operations by next year.

SEC, on the other hand, is an ecozone utilities enterprise engaged in the development, operation, and maintenance of a 210 MW coal-fired power plant inside KAIEZ. SEC’s total investment for this project is PhP 27.5 billion. As a strong advocate for environmental protection, SEC installed a state-of-the-art pollution control technology using circulating fluidized beds to minimize its air emission inside KAIEZ. As part of its corporate social responsibility, SEC also embarked on a reforestation project in Barangays Amsipit, Kablacan, and Nomoh, all located in Maasim, Sarangani, covering a total area of 1,600 hectares where SEC planted 1.5 million trees for carbon dioxide sequestration.

To accommodate the urgent and big-ticket projects of its locator companies, the ecozone developer, Kamanga Agro-Industrial Development Corporation (KAIEDC) under the Alsons Group, applied for annexation of additional 32.8 hectares into the KAIEZ. This expansion area is now pending with the Office of the President for proclamation. KAIEDC and Maasim LGU are hopeful that the proclamation will be issued soon in time for the President’s SONA.

Alsons Group New Ecozone Development Project in Sarangani

Alsons Group is also proposing to apply with PEZA for a 50-hectare property, which forms part of its total 1,000-hectare pineapple and banana plantation in Barangay Apopong, General Santos City, Sarangani Province. The proposed Agro-Industrial Economic Zone currently houses the box packaging facility of fresh pineapples and bananas, which are predominantly for export. Currently, Alsons Group is the 4th largest producer of fresh pineapples in the country. However, in terms of yield per hectare, they are the 2nd most productive pineapple grower in the country, with an output of 6,000 boxes of quality pineapples per hectare.

As a growth driver of business and industries, Alsons Group plays a key role in fueling the development, particularly of Mindanao, through its strategic investments in industrial parks and real estate development, agri/aqua business, power generation, and mining.

As we embark on this journey of eco-zoning the Philippines towards inclusive and sustainable development, PEZA shall continue to support countryside development through the creation of more economic zones in rural and new growth areas, continuously positioning the country as an attractive investment destination characterized by agility and responsiveness to the needs and demands of our dynamic investors.