Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone Authority
| Government Corporation | |
| Industry | Special Economic Zone |
| Headquarters | Brgy. San Ramon, Zamboanga City, Zamboanga Peninsula, Southeast Asia, Philippines 7000 |
Area served | BIMP-EAGA |
Key people |
HON. Christopher Lawrence S. Arnuco Jose J. Suan (Director - Representing the Labor Sector) |
| Website | Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone Authority |
The Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone Authority (Zamboecozone), otherwise known by its corporate name as Zamboanga Freeport Authority (ZFA), was created by virtue of the Republic Acts of the Philippines 7903 of the Philippines, authored by then Congresswoman and late mayor of the city of Zamboanga, Maria Clara L. Lobregat.
The special economic zone was enacted into law on February 23, 1995 and made operational a year later with the appointment of a Chairman and Administrator and the members of the Board by former President Fidel V. Ramos. It is located about 20 km. from Zamboanga City. The Zamboanga Freeport Authority is managed as a separate customs territory and offers incentives for would-be investors like tax free importation of goods, and other tax incentives.
History
The Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone Authority, otherwise known by its corporate name as ZamboEcozone Authority and Freeport / Zamboanga Freeport Authority(ZFA), was created by virtue of Republic Act 7903 authored by former Congresswoman Maria Clara L. Lobregat. It was enacted into law on February 23, 1995 and made operational a year later with the appointment of a Chairman and Administrator and the members of the Board by former President Fidel V. Ramos.
Zamboanga Freeport Authority was conceptualized to be an economic hub that is designed to generate local economic activities that will serve as a springboard for the promotion of trade, investments, and ecology tourism not only in Zamboanga City but also throughout the region. By nature of its operation, Zamboanga Freeport Authority is unique being both an Economic Zone and Freeport and is in fact the only Freeport in Visayas and Mindanao.
The prospects for legitimate domestic and foreign investors to set up shop in the Zamboanga Freeport where they can be free from customs tax, duties and tariff obligations, among an array of fiscal incentives like one peso per square meter per month on lease rates at the 1st Development Site; PhP 3,000.00 per hectare per year at the 2nd Development Site; Income Tax Holiday for four years extendible to a maximum of eight years; Net Operating Loss Carry Over tax scheme; 5% on Gross Income Earned ;guaranteed lease period of 50 years renewable for another 25 years, and foreign investors investing US$ 150,000.00 or more will be granted permanent residential status, along with their spouses, dependents and unmarried children below 21 years of age, foreign executives and technicians with highly specialized skills are issued working visas, renewable every two years; and 100% foreign ownership of business is definitely an attractive package to reckon with.
The Zamboanga Freeport Authority maintains a 4-storey office building in San Ramon manned by a complement of 80 technical staff tasked to oversee the area's day-to-day operations and map out its long-termed development plan. The Zamboanga Freeport Authority has two development site. The first Development Site consists of the 1st and 2nd Industrial Park. The 64.56-hectare San Ramon development site known as the First Industrial Park.
The Zamboanga Freeport Authority has come up with another priority project for the First Industrial Park. This project is in line with the President's vision of a more globally competitive Philippines. Priority is given to Retirement Village and Wellness Center, Information Technology (IT) with the availability of IT services such as Data Transcription, medical transcription, Litigation Support, Publishing Services, Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), Data Conversion, Graphics Animation, Computer-Aided Drafting and Design (CADD), Hispanic Call Centers, and Software Development and Maintenance. On the other hand, the 664-hectare seafront property of the Authority which serves as the site for the Second Industrial Park is the proposed site for the construction of a world-class International Seaport Complex. The complex will have a main area of 20 hectares. Other projects envisioned for the seaport site includes an 18-hole golf course, hotel, recreational facilities, restaurants, marina and theme parks.
First Industrial Park
First Industrial park is a Nature Park that boasts of two swimming pools, canteen, shower rooms and picnic huts which can accommodate as many as 500-700 guests. A staff house with a beautiful landscape in the facade is available for lease for seminars, conferences, retreats may be availed as a vacation home for families and friends who want to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life. Investor's houses, Standard Manufacturing Building and Storage building were also constructed for lease by interested locators.
Second Industrial Park
The Second Development Site on the other hand, which is located in the hinterlands of barangays Pamucutan and La Paz, consist of 15,391 hectares of logged-over forest. The 64.56-hectare First Industrial Park is suitable for commercial and service-oriented projects, institutional complexes and light to medium enterprises.
The Second Development Site of the Zamboanga Freeport Authority is a 15,000-hectare logged-over area in upper La Paz and Pamucutan. It is ideal for agro-forestry, high-end residential projects, information technology ventures and a university village. The Baguio-like climate is highly viable for eco-tourism. Visitors have raved about the once-in-a-lifetime experience of trekking in the slopes of the rugged terrain accompanied by well-trained members of Team Kaguang, the Authority's mountaineering club. Guests vowed to come back for the exhilarating experience once more. The concept of a retirement center in the hinterlands is now in the drawing boards. The identified 40-hectare property for this project nestled among the rolling hills has a magnificent view of the ocean and has a serene and calming effect most idyllic for a retirement community complete with hospital facility, fitness center, outdoor entertainment, sports and recreational center, spas and salons.
The Zamboanga Freeport Authority under the helm of Chairman and Administrator Georgina Pantaleon Yu has 20 registered locators. First to break ground as a Zamboanga Freeport locator in June 1997 was Faberco Holdings, Inc., a joint Filipino-Indian venture with three subsidiary companies that deal with equipment reconditioning and multi-products distribution system. Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone has taken off on a dawdling start but it has slowly but surely increased its pace with the entry of local and foreign investors that believe in this project and what it stands for. The availability of jobs has definitely given the Zamboangueños something to look forward to and has given them hope for a better tomorrow. With Zamboanga Freeport leading the way, the more than 600,000-resident population of the city and the rest of Mindanao can all look forward to share in the bountiful social and economic rewards that it can offer.
List of investors
| Name of Company | Project |
|---|---|
| 1.) Globe Telecom Inc. (GTI) | In-Building Coverage Enhancement Project |
| 2.) Seachamp International Export Corp. (SIEC) | Engaging in the processing, manufacturing and distribution of seafood products |
| 3.) CTK Asia Rubber Corp. (CTK) | Engage in the processing, manufacturing and export of technical specified natural rubber for rubber tires, development of natural rubber plantation and manufacturing of rubber application product. |
| 4.) Mi Casita Company Inc. (MCI) | Operate and restaurant and catering services. |
| 5.) Philippine Long Distance (PLDT) | Utilities Enterprise |
| 6.) Ascent Feed Specialist Inc. (AFSI) | To carry on the business of manufacturing, preparing, processing, mixing and dealing of feeds, food stuff, grains and commodities of every description for poultry, livestock and all kinds of animal feeding. To conduct and carry on all business appertaining thereto and other activities appertaining to the operations of animal feeds, manufacturing plant and boiler facilities. |
| 7.) San Miguel Foods, Inc. (SMFI) | To carry on warehousing operation and to conduct and carry on all business appertaining to the operation of an animal feeds manufacturing plant and boiler. |
| 8.) Artnature Philippines Inc. (INPI) | To establish a wig / toupee making branch, to conduct ventilation process and carry on other activities appertaining thereto. |
| 9.) San Ramon Power, Inc. (SRPI) | To operate a 100-MW coal-fired fluidized bed boiler power plant within the Zamboecozone 2nd Industrial port facility. |
| 10.) Helping Hand Development Cooperative (HHDC) | To provide specific and/or specialized work/services to ANPI as covered by Service Agreement entered into on November 1, 2012 |
| 11.) Primewater Infrasture Corp. (PIC) | Establish a water treatment plant project and for the Bulk water supply to ZCWD |
| 12.) Rowell Can Corporation | Warehousing of tin cans for canning factories |
| 13.) PIC-Asia Pacific Sdn. Bhd. | To Establish an operations office to provide technical, management, and maintenance support services to SRPI's 100 MW coal-fired power plant. |
| 14.) New Traditions Agri farm and Trading | Agri-Industrial Enterprise |
| 15.) A. Tung Chingco Manufacturing Corp. (ATC) | Warehousing of Ligo Sardines and other canned products. |
| 16.) Eco Bottling Enterprises (EBE) | Water Bottling Factory. |
| 17.) AML Fastfood (AML) | Operate a Canteen |
| 18.) Leadership Manpower Services Inc. (LMSI) | Provide Manpower services to Artnature Philippines Inc. |
| 19.) Gabmar Manpower Agency Inc. | Provider of manpower services to Seachamp Export International Corp. |
| 20.) AHS Agri-Aqua Ventures | To establish Cacao Plantation and Nursery |
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