The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) vowed to support and complement the Luzon Economic Corridor infrastructure initiative, which is one of the projects to be implemented under the Philippine-US-Japan trilateral agreement.

The Luzon Economic Corridor is seen to support connectivity among Subic Bay, Clark, Manila, and Batangas as well as facilitate and anchor strategic investments within each hub in high-impact infrastructure projects, including rail, port modernization, agribusiness, and clean energy and semiconductor supply chains and deployments.

PEZA Director General Tereso Panga, on the sidelines of the Indo-Pacific Business forum last May, declared that it is in full support of the Luzon Economic Corridor which will strengthen seamless interconnectivity between Central Luzon and the Calabarzon Region.

“Majority of PEZA-registered ecozones are largely within this corridor. In fact, there are a total of 137 ecozones operating in Metro Manila, Clark, and Batangas, housing about 1,600 manufacturing, service, and export-oriented companies. As such, we look forward to the infrastructure projects that will strengthen the connections between these industrial export hubs,” said the PEZA Chief.

Based on PEZA data, the developers and locators of the ecozones account for 56.91 percent of the total commodity exports of the Philippines in 2023. This has largely contributed to the creation of jobs in the provinces of Cavite, Tarlac, Batangas, Pampanga, Laguna which have grown and developed significantly throughout the years due to the presence of the economic zones.

“We are positive that this will de-clog and decongest logistical pinch points in Luzon, which serves as a major challenge to our locator companies and even to potential investors,” he said.

Looking at the next four years, the PEZA chief noted that “Opening up new seaports like Pantao, for one, in the Eastern Seaboard will de-risk trade as well as shorten transport of goods to Taiwan, Korea, the US, Japan, the Americas, Australia, New Zealand and other destinations in the Pacific. It will create new growth areas that will uplift the lives of millions in the region and have an economic impact on Southeastern Visayas.” Philippine Economic Zone Authority