Naga strengthens infrastructure to accommodate more investors

Strengthening its attractiveness as an industrial investment site, the local government unit (LGU) of Naga City in the southern part of Cebu now gears up to strengthen the infrastructure setup of the City to accommodate more investors.

Naga City Mayor Valdemar Chiong said that his administration is spending at least P3 million for the Comprehensive Drainage System study alone.

As of this time, the City has not intensified its investment promotion campaign yet, unless it already completed its extensive infrastructure projects, such as waste-water management, road widening, educational facilities, expanding public market, and public cemetery, green program, among others.

At present, Naga City is the host of a few industrial companies that contributes a huge chunk to the City's income revenue, such as Apo Cement, among others.

On the pipeline is the upcoming opening of Korean Electric Company (Kepco) and Sari Manok Feeds Manufacturing Plant.

Planters Bank SME industrial Park, on the other hand is now starting to attract locators.

The Sari Manok Feeds manufacturing plant, which is a subsidiary of Unilab, will be investing P600 million to P700 million to develop a five-hectare property for the animal-feed production that will supply the Visayas and Mindanao markets.

According to Chiong, aside from spending on infrastructure improvement program, the City is also bent on pushing an ordinance to give incentive to industrial investors in terms of fiscal perks, among others.

Part of the plan is to come up with another ordinance to encourage companies to hire 70 percent of their total workforce those who are residents of Naga. Naga City has a total of 95,000 residents.

Last year, the City registered P140 million gross income. Once Kepco starts its operations few years from now, the City's revenue is expected to climb, as this Korean-led company is expected to pay around P20 million to P30 million for its real property tax obligation alone.

According to Chiong, Planters Bank’s initiative to open up the first SME Industrial Park in the City, could further boost the City's revenue generation, as well as improve employment opportunities especially for the residents.

Planters Bank's SME Industrial Park targets to become Cebu's melting pot of the finest and innovative ideas for business that will propel the country's overall SME excellence for global recognition. —Ehda M. Dagooc