DAVAO has been known more than just its tourist attractions and its proximity to the bounties of nature in the Davao region. This year, Davao continues to gain name and recognition with its robust economic activity.
The city was recognized as the Fourth Most Competitive City in the Highly-Urbanized category during the 2018 Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index Awards at the sixth Regional Competitiveness Summit held at the Philippine International Convention Center last August 16.
Ivan Cortez, Davao City Planning and Development Office officer-in-charge, said the award was given by the Department of Trade and Industry to city governments that show outstanding performance in the field of economic dynamism, government efficiency, infrastructure and resiliency.
“The award is the testament of all the efforts made by all of the departments of the city government to bring development to Davao City,” Cortez said.
“With this award, we can see that the government is unceasingly giving its best to continue to improve its services,” Cortez added.
Based from the records of the Cities and Municipalities Competitive Index (CMCI), Davao City placed third in economic dynamism, taking into consideration factors like the size of economy, sources of material, structure of economy, safety compliance of businesses, cost of living, financial deepening involving the number of financial institutions within the city and number of people employed.
The city also landed third in infrastructure, which include roads, water and power utilities, telecommunication, number of transport vehicles, education and health facilities, and financial technology capacity.
The city's robust economy is evident with the construction of high-rise developments.
“Property development is one of the prime drivers of the robust economic status in the city,” Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (DCCII) president Arturo Milan said in a media forum Monday, December 17, at SM City Davao.
He also described the long stretch of J.P Laurel Avenue as “Edsa” because of the traffic congestion created alongside with the city’s economic development.
Milan said property developments like Aeon Towers, and mixed-use facility properties like Azuela Cove and The Davao Global Township are concrete examples of the real estate investments coming to the city.
Davao will continue to have more infrastructure investments as proof in living up to its promise to the city’s dwellers that indeed, “Life is here!”