An estimated PHP18 billion in investment pledges are expected to materialize this year for the Aurora Economic Zone and Freeport Authority (APECO) led by an American defense logistics company and a Singapore-based renewable energy project.
APECO President and CEO Gil G. Taway IV revealed in an interview in “Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon” over PTV 4 that the investment pledges already surpassed by a wide margin its PHP1.7-billion target for the first and second year from his appointment as APECO chief.
According to Taway, the Singapore-based RE company is set to sign a lease agreement for a 25 megawatt solar power plant for Dikadi municipalities and the entire Aurora province, securing the power supply for the economic zone.
Meantime, the US defense logistics company is also expected to sign a lease deal for its three-year development defense logistics project. In the first year, the American defense company plans to establish a drone testing and MRO facility, anti drone manufacturing in the second year, and ammunition production in the third year.
In addition, five cold storage companies have already signed agreements with APECO for fish processing operations in the economic zone. Other sources of investments are tourism and skills training projects.
Declaring APECO as “investment ready,” Taway said they have already secured the necessary power supply, telecommunications, and road infrastructure network in the Aurora Province.
For its role in the ambitious Luzon Economic Corridor project, Taway said that APECO offers a complementary location for the LEC, providing redundancy and resiliency to companies in the LEC, which is located in the western seaboard.
Taway reiterated that the primary advantage of APECO is its strategic location along the country’s eastern seaboard, putting them right in the center of the Indo Pacific trade route.
