THE management of Camp John Jay reservation is now venturing into agro-industrial investments to boost revenue from the special economic zone.
This is in line with the Special Economic Zone Act of 1995 providing for the transformation of selected areas in the country such as former American military bases into highly developed agro-industrial, commercial, tourist, banking investment, and financial centers, where highly trained workers and efficient services will be available to commercial enterprises.
John Hay Management Corporation president Jamie Eloise Agbayani said the expansion into agro-industrial venture will be an added source of revenue for the government.
At present, Agbayani said the economic zone serves as a tourism and hospitality center aside from serving as a forest reservation to the city.
The expansion into agro-industry commenced with the recent revival of an old mini-hydroelectric power plant in Camp 6 to generate an estimated three megawatts of renewable energy.
The surrounding of the power plant has been turned into a tree-planting site of the corporation now with several fruit-bearing trees including coffee and pine trees.
“Since we are into tourism, we are considering the expansion of our eco-tourism destinations to include visits at the power plant site,” Agbayani said.
JHMC has contracted out the rehabilitation, reconstruction and operation of the old hydro power plant to Riverflow Ventures and Power Energy Corp., a consortium of Isabela Power Corporation and Vendeka Bilgi Teknolojileri Ticaret Limited Sirketi recently.
The signing of the lease contract is pursuant to the government’s commitment to continue providing clean energy from renewable sources while providing revenue for the government.
Agbayani said the agreement will bring in some P440 million investments on the first year of the pre-development stage of the project. The 25-year lease covering 38 hectares from the total 625 hectares of the Camp John Hay reservation area will accommodate the diversion dam or the weir, headrace, penstock, power house and the tailrace.
Aside from the fruit trees, JHMC is also propagating African tulips and other varieties of flowers within its developed areas to sustain its eco-tourism venture.