Tuesday, November 13, 2007 CCCI starts study for ecozone By Malou M. Mozo Sun.Star Staff Reporter
THE Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) will embark on a “Pre-Investment Study” to speed up the proposed Cebu Economic Development Zone (CEDZ), which is pending in the House of Representatives.
The study, initiated by the chamber, will focus on the integrated land use and zoning strategies to back-up the feasibility of the proposal, said CCCI president Francis Monera.
The CEDZ is envisioned to be a paradigm of an effective and functioning Public-Private Sector Partnership with the private sector taking the lead and government providing infrastructure and institutional support and contributing part of the needed resources.
“We will be engaging an international entity to help us with this new effort,” Monera said in an interview.
The “Pre-Investment Study” will focus on identifying the areas in the whole province for zoning purposes, such as identifying which towns will be viable for light-industries to be proclaimed as agriculture zone, tourism zone, and Information Communication Technology (ICT) zone, among others.
Congressional hearing
Monera said the CEDZ Study Group, which is headed by CCCI past president Gerry Sta. Ana, is also expected to appear in the upcoming congressional hearing on the proposal.
Earlier, he said once Cebu gets the approval to become an economic zone (ecozone) from the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, it will be the first province in the country to achieve the status.
Monera reiterated the materialization of the province-wide ecozone project, in general, will become a “breakthrough” performance for the Cebu private sector.
President Gloria Arroyo earlier expressed her confidence on the proposal.
However, she did not give further details whether she favors the CEDZ, saying that the success of the proposal is in the hands of the Cebuano representatives who supported it.
“It’s a viable proposal. But it’s up to Congress,” the President said.
Among the Cebuano representatives that recently filed House Bill 1319 were Reps. Antonio Cuenco, Red Durano, Nerissa Soon-Ruiz, Eduardo Gullas, Benhur Salimbangon, Raul del Mar, Pablo John Garcia and Pablo Garcia.
The proposed legislation seeks the establishment of the CEDZ covering all the cities and municipalities of Cebu province, and the creation of the Cebu Economic Development Zone Authority.
Pilot project
The CCCI Ecozone Study Group initiated the concept of a private sector-led, province-wide special economic zone that would serve as a pilot project for sub-national business environment reforms and that would be independent of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, and Bureau of Investments, and other government-led incentive giving bodies.
It also aims at harnessing the resources of the entire Cebu province, which possesses all the economic ingredients and qualifications of a viable economic zone, as a pilot area for sub-national business environment reforms.
The German Agency for Technical Cooperation (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.
