Aboitiz Group to expand dev’t of West Cebu Industrial Park

BALAMBAN, Cebu – The Aboitiz Group and the Tsuneishi Group of Japan has a joint venture called the Cebu Industrial Park Developers, Inc. (CIPDI) and is now set to expand its development of the West Cebu Industrial Park (WCIP), a 540-hectare mixed-use development in Balamban, Cebu that hosts 11 locators from medium to heavy industries and to take advantage of strong demand from foreign and local locators for industrial spaces.

According to Rafael Fernandez De Mesa, First Vice President for Operations of the Aboitiz Integrated Economic Centers that its vision is to transform the WCIP into a fully integrated economic center to spur further economic growth in the area, like its two developments the LIMA Estate in Batangas and Mactan Economic Zone II in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu.

With its strategic location, skilled population, lower cost of doing business, and well-established ecosystem of infrastructure, De Mesa believed that WCIP is the ideal location for light, medium, and heavy industries looking to expand or locate in Cebu.

“This new expansion development will bring in new locators and businesses that are expected to yield up to 5,000 new jobs for the community by the end of 2022,” De Mesa added.

De mesa revealed that with the expansion, CIPDI has been in talks with several potential locators amid the pandemic for the last few lots in WCIP’s existing inventory. These are among the only PEZA-proclaimed inventory left in Cebu.

It recently landed Advanced Catamaran Composites, its third shipbuilding firm which is targeting to start its operations in the first quarter of next year, he said.

“We are excited to have Advanced Catamaran Composites as our newest locator in the WCIP.  With our 30-hectare expansion set to break ground in 2021, we hope to attract more locators to Balamban,” bared Eduardo Aboitiz, Vice President for Business Development of the Aboitiz Integrated Economic Centers.

He went on that at Aboitiz they are committed to make lasting partnerships with the locators by ensuring the ease of doing business and providing them with fully integrated solutions of infrastructure services such as power, water, and land.  “WCIP is only set to grow further, and now is the perfect time to invest here,” he added.

In 1992, Balamban, Cebu was a simple coastal town which transformed into a first-class municipality when CIPDI began operations in the area to develop WCIP.

Aboitiz said that the initial success of WCIP enabled the estate to grow from 202 to 540
hectares with more than 14,000 skilled workers are being employed by its industrial and commercial locators.

 The expansion hopes to continue WCIP’s growth story and turn Balamban into a vibrant city and as a Special Economic Zone, import and export businesses in WCIP enjoy tax incentives and other privileges. It also offers a secure location and ease of doing business, Aboitiz noted. (Photos: Aboitiz Group/Franz De la Fuente)