“THIS city is not only Cagayan de Oro, she is the center of Mindanao, part of a bigger community relevant in nation-building,” said Mayor Oscar Moreno, as he invited businesses to locate in the city and neighboring areas during a business forum in Makati City on Wednesday.
The day’s business forum, organized by the City Government in cooperation with the United States Agency for International Development, showcased the investment potential not only in the city but also in the neighboring areas of northern Mindanao.
Projects
Initially, Cagayan de Oro’s focus is on agricultural and environmental development, where the Moreno administration wants projects implemented with the help of the private sector: the improvement of the existing dumpsite; the construction and operation of a new sanitary landfill; establishment of a solid waste transfer station, septage treatment plant, interceptor and sewer system at the bank of Cagayan de Oro river; establishment of wastewater treatment plant; reforestation of the city’s rivers banks; and establishment of an eco-tourism park.
To sustain the city’s competitiveness, Moreno said strategic projects are needed in the agribusiness sector where a modern mechanized poultry dressing plant exists to cater to the expanding independent poultry growers and integrators for them to access the export market.
Hinterland development
Moreno said that once the strategic projects are in place, developments in the hinterland will follow, giving enormous livelihood opportunities to the inhabitants.
“Economic progress in Cagayan de Oro should radiate to the hinter barangays and other neighboring areas and share the opportunities to our people thus we will be reducing poverty incidence,” he said.
Meanwhile, Dr. Bernardo Villegas, director of the Research and Communication Center, said that the city is the growth driver in northern Mindanao, responsible for the 7.8 percent regional gross domestic product of the region.
He said Cagayan de Oro is the best location for manufacturing, as well as for “bed and breakfast” investment, alluding to the tourism potential of the city.
He added that for a city to fully use its potential for development, leaders should forget partisan politics, which obstructs project implementation.