Three-year investment plan for Cebu pushed

Mantalongon in Dalaguete is identified as one of the proposed agro-tourism zones of the province in Cebu.
CDN FILE PHOTO

CIPO ACTS TO SUSTAIN ECONOMIC GROWTH

As Cebu province anticipates greater economic opportunities amid interest from investors, the Cebu Investment Promotions Office (CIPO) is set to come up with a plan to support this growth.

Roy Soledad, the Cebu provincial government’s investment czar, said his priority at present is to craft a medium-term strategic plan for investment promotions.

“This will be important so the office will be guided no matter who sits as its head. Since the CIPO was established, all we had was an annual plan. But we need at least three years, to be broken down into annual plans,” Soledad told Cebu Daily News in a phone interview.

Soledad was referring to having annual plans for the next three years instead of having only an annual plan for the year.

Soledad said they were targeting to complete the three-year plan by June this year so it could be approved by the Cebu Provincial Board and Gov. Hilario Davide III.

CIPO

Established in October 2014 through the Provincial Ordinance 2014-08, CIPO is mandated to “attract, promote and encourage domestic and foreign investments in the Province of Cebu, as well as develop a business environment that keeps and sustains said investments.”

Soledad took over the reins of the office on February 1 this year, filling in the position left by Benjamin Joseph Yap.

On his first month, Soledad said he had to learn about existing plans as well as some of the work left behind by his predecessor.

Status quo, review

The investment chief is bent on sticking to the status quo in terms of the office’s activities, but he is also considering to improve existing programs, among which is the creation of a three-year plan.

To match the strategic plan, he said he also called for a review on the office’s organizational structure and proposed to add more staff to his department.

Soledad said he was hoping to have four units under his office which would each focus on investment promotion, marketing and advertising, research and project management, as well as administration.

Investors’ inquiries

“We have been receiving inquiries from many potential investors, so that is what we seek to improve. Hopefully, that will materialize within the year,” he said.

One investor asked where to put up a manufacturing plant for steel bars while other foreign investors were interested in the proposed trans-axial highway, a road which seeks to link the northern and southern parts of the province, said Soledad.

He also said that some were also asking about the inter-island bridges that would connect Cebu, Bohol, and Negros Island.

Economic zones

Soledad said the CIPO is also busy finalizing the physical framework plan for proposed economic zones in Cebu, in partnership with the Provincial Planning and Development Office (PPDO).

“We are currently working on the complete profile of the proposed ecozones in the province. That way, when prospective investors ask us where they can set up their business, we have information to give them right away,” he added.

The PPDO has identified 17 potential ecozones across the province, based on the Comprehensive Land Use Plan of each of the local governments hosting these sites. (See table)

LEIPO

Lastly, the CIPO, in partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry’s Board of Investments (BoI), is conducting trainings to build the capacity of local economic incentives and promotion officers (LEIPO).

Soledad said his office already wrapped up trainings for town in central and northern Cebu while seminars in local governments in southern Cebu are expected to be finished this month.

The value of BoI-registered projects in Cebu was pegged at P720.58 million in the first quarter of 2017 from P7.65 billion during the same period in 2016.

Projects logged with BoI as of March this year include two mass housing projects by 77 Living Spaces, Inc. (Malibu by Aldea Premier in Talisay City) and Kenrich Development Corp. (Villa Melissa in Liloan) as well as three small-scale solar power projects by Solar Pacific Citysun Corporation in Cebu City and Consolacion town.

All five projects were seen to generate 234 jobs, still lower than the 498 jobs generated from six projects in the first quarter of 2016.