NEW ECOZONE. The groundbreaking ceremony of Aboitiz InfraCapital (AIC) Economic Estates for its TARI Estate in Tarlac City on Tuesday (May 7, 2024) is led by (from left) AIC president and chief executive officer Cosette Canilao, PEZA Director General Tereso Panga, Aboitiz Group president and CEO Sabin Aboitiz, Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual, Tarlac City Mayor Maria Cristina Angeles, and LIMA Land president and AIC Economic Estates head Rafael Fernandez de Mesa. AIC is investing PHP7 billion for the TARI Estate in Tarlac City over two years. (PNA photo by Kris M. Crismundo)
TARLAC CITY – Aboitiz InfraCapital (AIC) is investing PHP7 billion for the TARI Estate in this city, an economic zone development registered with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA).
In a press conference here Tuesday, LIMA Land, Inc. president and Aboitiz InfraCapital Economic Estates head Rafael Fernandez de Mesa said the amount would be invested in a span of two years for the development of the new ecozone in Central Luzon.
The company began the construction of the 200-hectare TARI Estate during its groundbreaking ceremony led by Fernandez de Mesa, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Alfredo Pascual, PEZA Director General Tereso Panga, Tarlac City Mayor Maria Cristina Angeles, Aboitiz Group president and chief executive officer (CEO) Sabin Aboitiz, and AIC president and CEO Cosette Canilao.
“We’re projected to spend about PHP7 billion… We’ve already begun construction. We expect to be able to complete it within the next 24 months depending on the interest and the demand, which seems to be quite high. We may decide to accelerate those timelines to meet the needs of our customers,” Fernandez de Mesa said.
LIMA Land vice president for sales Monica Trajano said 160 hectares of the total land development would be allocated for industrial use and the rest would be for commercial, retail, hospitality, and residential use.
Trajano added the first phase of the project consists of 80-hectare industrial development.
Fernandez de Mesa said the company is attracting locators in large manufacturing activities, especially semiconductor and electronics companies, automotive and food manufacturing for the increasing food requirement in the country amid the growing population and per capita gross domestic product (GDP) in Central Luzon.
He said the nationalities of future locators of the TARI Estate are predominantly Japanese and Taiwanese, and some from China.
“We are seeing companies that are interested in the Philippines because of our government’s efforts to (establish greater) ease of doing business, possibly making business better. They see the Philippines as a very strategic location because of our geographic location, as (a) gateway to Southeast Asia. Of course, our young, abundant labor force. And very important is our English proficiency because that English proficiency leads to higher productivity,” Fernandez de Mesa said.
“Our expansion in Tarlac underscores our confidence in Central Luzon’s potential as a top tier investment hub.”
Moreover, PEZA chief Panga said the investments of AIC in Tarlac would encourage the establishment of more ecozones in the region.
“We believe that Central Luzon is where the next wave of ecozone development will transpire given the massive infrastructure development in the area,” he said, adding that the region has the third highest contribution to the national GDP.
TARI Estate is AIC Economic Estates’ fourth economic estate. The three other developments are LIMA Estate in Batangas, as well as the Mactan Ecozone II and the West Cebu Estate in Cebu.
Its Batangas and Cebu hubs encompass 1,600 hectares of land development, generated more than PHP155 billion in investments, hosted 250 industry leaders, and employed more than 100,000 Filipinos since 1995. (PNA)
