MORE INDUSTRIES OUTSIDE CITIES
Manila, April 15, 1998 - The Department of Trade and Industry expects more manufacturing and agro-processing industries to operate in provincial centers, which will provide employment to people in the countryside.
The eight provincial agri-industrial centers currently being developed are strategically located in Abra, Ilocos Norte, Nueva Ecija, Catanduanes, Leyte, Lanao del Norte, Bukidnon and Davao del Norte.
Project cost in developing a provincial center varies from $200 million to $500 million. The centers vary in size from 34 hectares to 150 hectares, depending on the specific industries that will be put up in the site.
The Office of Special Concerns, an agency of the Dept. of Trade, implements a national program for developing the regional and provincial centers, with master plans and feasibility studies for each of the eight areas.
As explained by Assistant DTI Secretary Richard Albert Osmond, the centers encourage investors and companies to shift production from crowded areas such as Metro Manila to the more depressed but potentially promising areas.
The industrial centers also serve to discourage migration to Metro Manila by residents of outlying areas in search of employment opportunities.
Reported by: Sol Jose Vanzi
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