THE Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) has approved the registration of the Palawan Mega Ecozone (PMEZ) to convert part of the idle lands of the Iwahig Prison Colony into the first and largest eco-friendly industrial estate in the country.
The ecozone will seek to attract such industries as agro-industrial processing and renewable energy, among others. The development of the ecozone will also involve government effort to strengthen trade ties with neighbor countries in the East Asia growth region, PEZA said.
PEZA announced on Tuesday its board approved the PMEZ in its meeting on May 21.
PMEZ is a joint undertaking of PEZA with the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor). It will comprise 28,000 hectares in the Ihawig Prison Colony of BuCor just beside Puerto Princesa City, the Authority said.
An initial 4,000 hectares have been transferred to PEZA as Phase 1 for conversion into the approved PMEZ, it added. The project cost was not disclosed.
“The Palawan Mega Ecozone is envisioned to attract environmentally responsible industries such as agro-industrial processing, renewable energy, eco-tourism, and marine biotechnology,” Tereso Panga, PEZA director-general, said in the statement.
“This will not only preserve Palawan’s rich biodiversity but will also uplift the livelihood of local communities through jobs and infrastructure development.”
PMEZ is expected to create more than 480,000 direct jobs, benefiting not only local communities, persons deprived of liberty, and the whole of Western Visayas and Sulu Regions.
The mega development will focus on efforts to strengthen trade with the rest of the members of the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asia Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) due to the strategic location of PMEZ, PEZA said.
The BIMP-EAGA initiative seeks to promote growth in trade, investment and tourism by developing new intra-regional shipping routes, expanding air connectivity and advancing power interconnection projects.
“The establishment of PMEZ will further enhance this corridor, serving as the Philippines’ strategic gateway to Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei. Once operational, the PMEZ is envisioned to host both Filipino and Asean-based companies, boosting regional trade and economic integration,” PEZA said.
Separately, PEZA said it is in talks with Malaysian and Indonesian companies that have earlier signified their interest in establishing their presence in the Philippines as part of their supply chains.
“We welcome these interests as we continue to grow and strengthen inter-trade ties among our neighbors, making the Asean region a more cohesive economic and trade area,” Panga added.
PEZA added that PMEZ is also regarded as an immediate response to the instructions of the President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of promoting stronger trade ties among Asean member states in view of the US tariffs.
A newly-formed inter-agency technical working group (TWG) that will facilitate the issuance of permits and documents for PMEZ targets to complete the regulatory requirements before the end of June, prior to its submission to the Office of the President for proclamation as an ecozone.
