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Friday, January 23, 2004
Traders take stand for competitive Central Luzon
By Albert B. Lacanlale
LOCAL businessmen in the province led by the Pampanga Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Pamcham) Inc. Thursday took a stand behind the bid to make Central Luzon a “global gateway” of the country.
During the Central Luzon Development Summit on the “Global Gateway,” Laus Group of Companies chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) Levy P. Laus, who is also Pamcham president, said the province’s business sector should take the challenge “to bring about the desired results that we want for our province, particularly, and for our region and country, ultimately in terms of economic and business growth.”
The workshop, graced by Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) chairman Felicito Payumo and Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) president and CEO Rufo Colayco, tends to define the business sector’s role in the vision of transforming the region into a logistics hub and a world-class economic corridor.
It was also attended by officers of the Metro Angeles Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (Maccii), Clark Investors and Locators Association (Cila), Metro Clark Advisory Council (Mcac), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Regional Development Council (RDC), among others.
Payumo and Colayco are among the minds behind the Subic-Clark Alliance for Development (Scad), which advocates the improvement of vital facilities in the region to boost its capability to compete in the global economy.
Colayco, the affair’s guest speaker, stressed that products from the region need not be transported all the way to Metro Manila for processing and eventual distribution to markets here and abroad.
He said the government only needs to improve and create seaports, airports and road networks to establish industrial, commercial, logistics, ecological and cultural tourism activities in the region.
Payumo, in his presentation, pointed out that through the years, development from Metro Manila has rapidly flowed down south where Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, and Batangas, among others, are located.
He said this is apparently due to the improvement of vital highways leading to the said area.
However, Payumo said the development trend could be reversed once the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) in Clark, the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway and North Luzon Expressway (Nlex) are fully operational, combined with world-class seaports to be located on the shoreline of Zambales and Bataan.
Speaking on behalf of Pamcham, Laus said the group is determined to face the challenge in the vision of making Central Luzon a global gateway. “Our chamber’s vision of being the prime catalyst for countryside development in this part of the country was crafted with that larger vision in mind.”
(January 23, 2004 issue)
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