General Trias makes heroic leap to an urbanized city

General Trias ranks among the most competitive and most business-friendly cities in Calabarzon. (HTTPS://CAVITE.GOV.PH)

Over the years, General Trias in Cavite province has progressed economically from being an agricultural municipality to an industrial and urbanized city.

Named after a local hero of the province, General Trias has grown into a first-class component city that hosts big names in the manufacturing, semiconductor, and real estate industries. The city also takes pride in being the home of the Gateway Business Park, Cavite’s premier industrial park. The Cavite Economic Zone spanning Rosario and General Trias is one of the biggest job generators in the province.

Aside from the industries and business opportunities in the city, it has also seen a boom as a residential town brought in by investments from private companies and socialized housing projects of the government. The rising number of schools, hospitals, banks, malls, and other leisure areas has also increased foot traffic in the city.

Despite the growing number of commercial and business districts in the city, General Trias has retained its laid back charm with the abundance of open fields, trees, and fresh air.

Named after a local hero of the province, General Trias has grown into a first-class component city that hosts big names in the manufacturing, semiconductor, and real estate industries. (HTTPS://WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/GENTRICITY)

General Trias ranks among the most competitive and most business-friendly cities in Calabarzon due to its industrialization and rapid urban development.

General Trias was originally known as San Francisco de Malabon, after its patron saint, St. Francis of Assisi. In the 1980s, the name of the town was changed to General Trias in honor of the Cavite-born hero Gen. Mariano Trias who was a significant figure in the Philippine-American war and was Cavite’s first provincial governor.

According to official records of the national government, the city has a total land area of 8,700 ha subdivided into 33 barangays. According to the latest census of the Philippine Statistics Authority, the city has a population of 450,583 as of 2020.

Because of its location, General Trias played a big role in the development and urbanization of the northern part of Cavite. It is accessible to other municipalities and cities of Cavite like Noveleta, Imus, Kawit, Dasmariñas, Silang, Amadeo, Tanza, and Rosario.

General Trias also has close proximity to some tourist destinations in Southern Luzon like Taal and Anilao in Batangas and Laguna. The city has its own niche sites to visit like the Eagle Ridge Golf Estate, which is one of the biggest golf courses in Southeast Asia.

St. Francis of Assisi Parish Church (HTTPS://WWW.WIKIPEDIA.ORG)

In 2013, General Trias was named among the top five most competitive municipalities in the country by the National Competitiveness Council. This ranking helped General Trias gain more prospective investors who were attracted by the stable business environment in the area.

With the improvements in General Trias in terms of business activity, employment, and efficiency in public service, it was elevated into a component city two years later.

In August 2015, General Trias was converted from a first-class municipality into a component city by virtue of Republic Act No. 10675. The conversion was approved through a plebiscite held in December of the same year. General Trias became Cavite’s seventh city.

Its elevation into a city attracted more investments for General Trias. With more business opportunities and infrastructure developments, this also meant more employment and economic activities for residents of General Trias.

In October 2019, General Trias ranked first in Economic Dynamism in the Overall Competitiveness ranking of component cities according to the Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index of the Department of Trade and Industry.

In May 2023, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) announced that Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI), a global semiconductor company, will invest US $200 million for its expansion plans in the Philippines. It will build a new research and development facility in addition to its LEED certified production facility at Gateway Business Park in General Trias.

The Cavite Economic Zone spanning Rosario and General Trias is one of the biggest job generators in the province. (FILE PHOTO)

ADI’s Philippine counterpart is the Analog Devices General Trias, Inc. (ADGTI) which is registered with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA). It is engaged in the manufacture, assembly, semiconductor devices testing and dice inspection. As of 2022, ADGTI had 5,252 employees, with total exports of US $394.39 million in the same year.

In July 2023, PEZA pre-qualified eight economic zone projects worth P33 billion during the first half of the year, including the expansion project for the Gateway Business Park.

In September 2023, President Marcos led the inauguration of a new factory of a multinational brand in General Trias, which he said will generate 5,000 new jobs for residents of the city. The new beauty, wellbeing, and personal care factory is a manifestation of the city as a conducive place to expand and invest in.

Federal Land NRE Global Inc. (FNG)—a partnership between Federal Land Inc. and Japan’s Nomura Real Estate Development Co. Ltd.—has also invested to build and develop innovative, sustainable communities in General Trias City.

Yume, which means dream or vision in Japanese, is one of the first projects of FNG. Yume is a residential neighborhood within Federal Land’s Riverpark Community in General Trias spanning around 18 hectares.

As FNG’s inaugural project in the province and the first horizontal development of FNG in Riverpark, Yume aims to be a unique Japanese-inspired nurturing neighborhood that offers to be a perfect setting for families to grow and thrive.

A total of 296 lots, with sizes ranging from 300 sqm to 527 sqm, will be made available, thus providing ample spaces for growing families to move about. A host of amenities will also give future residents areas where they can relax, unwind, and connect with the rest of the community, while enabling them to lead an enriching and fulfilling lifestyle.

With the additional residential options and mixed-use developments in General Trias, along with the growing economic investments in the city pushed by the national and local governments, it is exciting to see how much more General Trias City will thrive and prosper in the coming years.

Sources: Inquirer Archives, pna.gov.ph, generaltrias.gov.ph, cavite.gov.ph, dti.gov.ph, coa.gov.ph, gatewaybusinesspark.com.ph