Davao City plans to develop 25-hectare ecozone
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 19 November) — The city government of Davao is eyeing a 25-hectare property in Barangay Daliao, Toril, for development into an economic zone through public-private partnership (PPP), citing the need to provide investors with spaces where they can establish their manufacturing facilities.
At the Mindanao-European Economic Roundtable Discussion (MIN-EU ECORD) at Seda Abreeza on Tuesday, Christian Cambaya, head of the Investor Assistance and Servicing Unit of the Davao City Investment Promotions Center (DCIPC), said that the local government is looking for an investor who can help develop the property, which is owned by the state-owned National Development Company.
Meanwhile, Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Secretary Leo Magno, said that the establishment of a PPP Center for Mindanao last September follows a steady increase in the expansion of infrastructure projects across key growth corridors, particularly in energy, logistics, and digital connectivity.
“This shift in perspective is no accident. It did not happen overnight. It is a result of years of collective effort to reshape how Mindanao is seen, how Mindanao is understood, and how Mindanao is appreciated, not as a region of risk but one of many potentials, with its resilience. rich resources and rising potential,” he said.
Cambaya said the city government’s property in Toril hosts the city government’s five-hectare Davao Food Terminal Complex in Barangay Daliao, Toril, which the official described as “underutilized,” prompting DCIPC to propose developing the site into a manufacturing hub under a PPP scheme.
According to Cambaya, prospective investors, particularly in manufacturing, require huge tracts of land, which remains a constraint for the city in attracting new investments.
“A single investor has a huge requirement,” he noted.
He said most of the ecozones in Davao are IT Parks that host business process outsourcing companies.
Cambaya added that a Manila-based company engaged in developing cold storage facilities in Luzon and Visayas had earlier expressed interest in developing the entire area, but nothing has been finalized yet.
He said the local government has acknowledged the need to establish industrial parks that accommodate foreign firms considering expanding in the city, allowing them to take advantage of the fiscal and non‑fiscal incentives granted by the national government to locators in identified economic zones.
According to the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), non-fiscal incentives include the granting of special non-immigrant visas with multiple entry privileges for non-resident foreign nationals and immediate family members, employment of foreign nationals, and long-term land lease of up to 75 years.
It said firms may also avail of fiscal incentives, including, among others, income tax holidays (ITH) of four to seven years; a 5% special corporate income tax or enhanced deductions after ITH; tax-and-duty-free importation of capital equipment, raw materials, spare parts or accessories; value-added tax (VAT) exemption on importation and VAT zero-rating on local purchases for goods and services directly or exclusively used in the registered project or activity of export enterprise for the period of registration of the said project or activity; domestic sales allowance of up to 30% of total sales; and exemption from payment of local government taxes and fees for the duration of the period of availment of special corporate income tax. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
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