Four new big investments will come to Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur this year, with the biggest project worth about 15 billion pesos.
In an interview with PIA, mayor Joel Ray Lopez said the biggest investor is the shipyard project of Mitsubishi.
The three other investments are the Jetty Oil depo and plant, a banana chips factory, and the 60 hectares farm lot subdivision.
All the new investors are already in the proess of completing their requirements, Lopez said.
Lopez added that the real property project is planning on a high-end resort residential area and is currently ironing out kinks with regard to road right of way. He said this project will fall under eco-tourism, a priority program of the municipality.
The banana chips project, an expansion project of Coco Davao, has construction that is expected to be completed by the end of 2008, by which time it is expected to employ an additional 200 workers.
Franklin Baker has also infused an additional 100 million in investments in its expansion project while japanese hydropower company Hedcor has poured in 6 billion pesos worth of investments and is expected to be fully operational by next year.
Given these industries, mayor Lopez said they expect additional income to fund their priority projects on environmental protection and other basic services.
Sta. Cruz is a first class municipality with an IRA of 80 million pesos and a local income of 40 million pesos.
Lopez attributes the growth of investments in their area to the big industry leaders that are already located in their municipality.
He noted that, with the entry of San Miguel Corporation, investors’ attention became focused on their town, making their municipality a choice area to locate big industries. Lopez also said that investors find it easy to locate in their area because the cost of doing business is reasonable. (PIA)
