Aboitiz Group expands Cebu ecozone

The Aboitiz Group is expanding its economic zone in western Cebu, a move that is expected to create thousands of new jobs, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) said on Wednesday.

PEZA director general, Tereso Panga said the Aboitiz InfraCapital Inc. is expanding its 280-hectare West Cebu Estate in Balamban town by an additional 39 hectares.

“This expansion project is expected to generate an additional 14,000 jobs under four new locator companies,” Panga said in a statement.

The economic hub, which is home to shipbuilding giants Tsuneishi and Austal, is one of three operating manufacturing ecozones under the Aboitiz group.

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According to the PEZA, the West Cebu Estate currently has 23 companies operating within, employing 13,935 people.

Exports from this economic zone average $47.5 million monthly, according to the investment promotion agency.

Marice Alyssa Ofrin, assistant vice president at Aboitiz InfraCapital, told the Inquirer that the expansion work is 80 percent complete and is on track for completion by the second quarter of next year.

Ofrin also said that the company invested P1.4 billion for the expansion.

“This (amount) does not include infrastructure (because) those will be invested by incoming locators,” Ofrin said.

Last July, the company also broke ground for the expansion of its economic zone in Batangas, the 940-hectare LIMA (Lipa-Malvar) Estate.

The estate currently hosts 180 locator companies that employ a total of 71,000 people according to Aboitiz InfraCapital.

Aside from the ecozone’s industrial district, it also has a residential area with 4,000 households, 167 retail stores and restaurants, a four-star hotel, and a transportation hub.