Wednesday, February 14, 2007 IFC to back Cebu ecozone proposal
THE Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) has found a supporter and a prospective source of funds for its Cebu economic zone (ecozone) project.
Francis Monera, CCCI president, said the International Finance Corp. (IFC) of the World Bank (WB) has agreed, in principle, to help the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) study ways to make Cebu into one ecozone.
GTZ, which has an existing development cooperation agreement with the Philippine Government, is funding CCCI’s feasibility study for the ecozone project. GTZ is the implementing agency of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of the government of Germany.
Monera, who attended the business conference attended by private sector representatives of Asian countries in Thailand, expressed optimism that the IFC will support the Cebu ecozone project, as the international organization has funded the creation of an ecozone in Bangladesh.
He said the IFC, in one of the discussions about the matter with CCCI officials, had pointed out that Cebu can be the pilot area and model of economic reforms in the country.
Cebu can be declared into a single ecozone through presidential proclamation, Monera said.
The Cebu ecozone project, which was conceptualized by the CCCI, aims to promote an enabling environment for investment. (JBN)
