THE Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) said it is evaluating an application to register a General Santos City economic zone filed by Alsons Group.

In a Facebook post, PEZA Director General Tereso O. Panga said the economic zone is a 100-hectare site next to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP)-managed General Santos International Airport.

Meanwhile, he said via Viber that PEZA is also trying to obtain additional land from CAAP-GenSan International Airport for an aerotropolis ecozone.

“Our target for CAAP GenSan International Airport is 200 hectares,” Mr. Panga said.

PEZA and CAAP signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in 2022 for the establishment of aerotropolis or aerotropolis-linked ecozones.

Under the MoU, PEZA and CAAP committed to jointly promote the establishment of the ecozones and attract investment in aviation-related manufacturing industries, logistics services and maintenance, repair and operations, renewable energy, and food terminal hubs.

“There is already a prospective Japanese investor wanting to locate there for food processing,” Mr. Panga said.

“But in that aerotropolis park, we also want to host aviation-related activities such as maintenance, repair, and operations; processing of special aviation fuel; and flight simulation training facilities, among others,” he said.

Mr. Panga added that China’s Panhua Integrated Steel, Inc. is applying for an expansion project at its Kamanga Agro-Industrial Economic Zone site in Sarangani.

Separately, PEZA formalized the registration of Daikyo International Philippine, Inc. as a new domestic market enterprise on Feb. 20.

“Daikyo, a Japanese manufacturing company, is set to specialize in the production and processing of adhesive sheets and sticky traps at Carmelray Industrial Park I-Special Economic Zone (CIP I-SEZ) in Laguna,” it said, noting that the Laguna investment is still in the pre-operating stage.

“Its innovative products will help farmers reduce pesticide use, increase profitability, and contribute to the overall growth and sustainability of the agribusiness sector,” it added. — Justine Irish D. Tabile