ZAMBOANGA CITY, Jan. 23 (PIA) -- A total of PhP5.171B in incremental investments was reported by
the Department of Trade and Industry Regional Office-IX (DTI-IX) to the
industry sectors that it renders direct assistance in 2012.
Registering
the biggest increment at PhP2.38B or 46% of the total investment is the
processed fish sector, followed by the construction and construction materials sector,
which contributed 25% to the total investment take.
The other
DTI-assisted industry sectors which contributed to the total new investments
are rubber, processed food, tourism, coconut, GDH (that is, gifts, decors and
house wares), seaweeds, and ICT.
In a
press statement, DTI-IX Regional Director Nazrullah B. Manzur said that “there
is expansion of existing factories and the opening of new canneries” in
Zamboanga City last year.
“Although
not among the 12 industries prioritized for promotion, the sizable investment
in the construction and construction materials sector is certainly a welcome
development,” Manzur said.
“This
is a manifestation of the renewed confidence in real estate development in the
region, mirroring the construction boom in Manila, Cebu and Davao, albeit at a
much lesser pace,” Manzur added.
Zamboanga
City continues to lead in investments generation, capturing more than half of
the total at P3.317B, followed by Zamboanga del Norte at P882.38 M, Zamboanga
del Sur at P751.652M, Sibugay at P208.060M and Isabela City at P12.42M.
Manzur
however clarified that the PhP5.171B investments it reported is but a fraction
of the total new investments from the public and private sectors in the region.
“What
we have accounted here are only those that the office directly assisted such as
through investment and financing facilitation. This is also true in the
accounting of the office’s other bottom lines such as jobs created, export and
domestic sales generated, and SMEs created or assisted,” Manzur added. (FPG/LVS/DTI-9/FDM/PIA9-ZBST)
