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Thursday, August 11, 2005
Cebu contributes much to RP exports, tourism
Despite accounting for just 4.4 percent of the country’s population, the province of Cebu generates 10 percent of national exports and receives 15 percent of all foreign tourists who visit the Philippines.
The province also trumps Subic and Clark when it comes to investments.
This was revealed by Sandra Manuel, officer-in-charge of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) 7, during yesterday’s Sun.Star Economic Forum 2005 at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino.
Her glowing report on the Cebu economy, however, was tempered by concerns about the infrastructure needed to support
further growth.
Cebu, which accounts for 98 percent of Central Visayas exports, generated 10.5 percent of Philippine exports in 2004.
This trend continued in the first quarter of this year when it raked in $999 million in export receipts, Manuel said in her presentation.
As far as tourism is concerned, Manuel revealed that in 2004, “more than 15 percent of foreign tourists in the country visited Cebu.”
She produced data showing that from 2000 to 2004, Cebu received far more tourists than rival “beach-oriented and convention destinations” like Davao, Boracay, Batangas and Palawan.
Cebu welcomed one million tourists, both local and foreign, last year.
In investments, the picture was just as bright.
While Cebu drew P4.1 billion in investments last year, Subic got only P3.7 billion, and Clark, P3 billion.
In 2003, Cebu attracted P4.3 billion in investments, dwarfing the amounts received by Subic and Clark, which were just P2.4 billion and P1.7 billion, respectively.
During the same forum, however, Agustin Palao, president of the Confederation of Philippine Exporters Foundation (Cebu) Inc., hinted that to keep investors happy, something would have to be done about the power and water situation in the province.
“For MEZ (Mactan Economic Zone) locators, we are hearing that power cost is quite high compared to other Asian countries,” he said.
He also cited the lack of water as a problem, saying hotels in Mactan have to truck in water for their operations.
Asked to comment on the power problems of Cebu, among them a possible supply shortage, Carlos Co, chairman of the Cebu Power Core Group, said: “This will be solved by October when a submarine cable from Leyte will be energized.”
The cable will provide Cebu with 200 megawatts of power, solving Cebu’s power supply problems for “at least the next three years,” he told Sun.Star Cebu.
After that time, the power projects of Korean Electric Power Corp. and Mirant will already be on stream.
Each of the companies plans to provide an additional 200 mw of power, he said. By the end of 2008, each will have 100 mw available, with the remaining 100 mw to be available by early 2009.
He said the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) was also working on the water problem.
Yesterday Sun.Star Cebu reported that after a long legal battle, the MCWD and Compostela Mayor Antonio Dangoy were speaking again on operating idle wells in Compostela. (CTL)
(August 11, 2005 issue)
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