Zamboanga City Mayor Celso L. Lobregat has been welcoming an increasing number of visitors to the third largest city in the Philippines. These include the businessmen, both local and foreign, from various parts of the world. Overseas investors are in fact setting their sights on Zamboanga City, having heard of the rapid progress of the only freeport existing in Southern Philippines. The Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone and Free Port, popularly called ZAMBOECOZONE or ZAMBOANGA FREEPORT, is located right in the center of the metropolis. Then congresswoman Maria Clara Lobregat, mother of the incumbent mayor, had authored Republic Act 7903 that created the ZAMBOECOZONE and which was made operational in 1996.

                                         Rock Bottom Prices
     The incentives proffered by ZAMBOECOZONE are almost incredible. Investors, dig this (and don’t think you’re reading “Ripley’s Believe It or Not”): For the incredibly small amount of USD0.02 (roughly PhP1.00) per square meter per month, you can lease an estate lot for your business in the zone’s First Industrial Park that has 64.70 hectares or in the Second Industrial Park that consists of 664.68 hectares.
     The guaranteed lease period is 50 years, renewable for an additional 25 years! (Your heirs will certainly love this provision.)
But you have only 28 more months to avail of this rock bottom price offer. Come 2010, the price goes up – or else, even if you’re ready to invest by that time, there might be no more available lots left.
     This writer was briefed on the workings of ZAMBOECOZONE by its sales/promotions supervisor Marilou Delos Reyes Vasquez and information officer Bhong Simbajon during my Zamboanga City sojourn which was facilitated by Bob Zozobrado of IDEAZ and sponsored by the office of the City Mayor.
     Also within the zone is the Freeport Highland where you can lease at PhP3,000 a hectare per year. With a five percent compounded annual increase. The lease period is also 50 years, renewable for 25 more years.

                                              Ideal Location
     ZAMBOECOZONE covers more than 16,000 hectares and is an integrated agro-industrial, commercial, financial and tourist center with free port status. Notable is that Zamboanga is the gateway to the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA), making it the ideal hub for enterprises targeting dis

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