The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) said it closed the first quarter of 2025 with 66 new and expansion projects worth P58.94 billion, reflecting a 294.26-percent increase from the P14.95 billion approved in the same quarter in 2024.
PEZA director-general Tereso Panga said the robust performance also represented about 24 percent of its target investments for 2025, with the potential to employ 15,815 new hires and exports reaching $497.46 million.
The PEZA board approved 27 projects worth P6 billion in March, a 110.66-percent increase from P2.85 billion a year ago.
The projects are expected to generate $223.497 million in exports and create over 4,700 jobs.
Approvals in the first quarter included 12 IT-BPM projects, 10 export manufacturing ventures, two utility projects, two ecozone developments and one domestic enterprise spread across Metro Manila, Regions III, IV, VII and X.
PEZA said of the projects, two major ventures, worth a combined P2.6 billion, involve a water treatment facility in Batangas and a coconut milk production plant in Misamis Oriental.
PEZA said it is organizing various local and outbound investment missions to promote incentives under the CREATE More Act, in cooperation with investments partners and the Office of the Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs (OSAPIEA).
“We have already received several inquiries and hosted inbound delegations from the US, Japan, China, Taiwan, and Spain who are interested in investing in the ecozones. We are anticipating the influx of more investors looking into the Philippines for their offshore operations in Asia,” Panga said.
