Monday, February 05, 2007 2 GenSan IT parks get endorsement
EFFORTS to establish two Information Technology parks in General Santos have gained momentum after the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) endorsed the proposal and submitted the same to Malacanang for approval, officials said.
Ellorence Cruz, Board of Investments coordinator, is optimistic that the Mabuhay Techno Park and the IT Park of the Mindanao Polytechnic College would get the approval of the Palace.
"The establishment of these parks would be a boon to the city's thriving economy. Malacanang would declare them as IT parks," she said in a recent interview.
Cruz noted that if the proposal gets the approval of Malacanang, locators at the parks would get four to six years' corporate income tax holidays.
Also, equipment that would be brought in to these parks would be duty-free, she added.
The city is positioning itself as an alternative Information and Communications Technology hub outside Metro Manila.
Dorecita Delima, Department of Trade and Industry-Central Mindanao deputy director, said the IT parks will be put up by private investors with assistance from the local government and the local trade department office.
She added the IT parks will attract investors in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry such as call centers, medical transcription, animation, architectural and engineering design, among others.
The local trade department office and the City Government have been conducting "e-business" week celebration in the past three years in a bid to drum up the ICT potentials of the locality.
Mayor Pedro Acharon said the advantages of the city in luring BPO players are its "quality human resources, the low cost of doing business and the presence of needed support systems such as telecommunication, accommodation, and infrastructure facilities." (BBS)
