‘Pockets of economies’ expanding Ecija business, job opportunities

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    CABANATUAN CITY – Business and job opportunities in Nueva Ecija,  a province largely  dependent on agricultural
    economy, particularly rice, are expanding due to the “pockets  of economies” coming to the province starting this   year, according to Gov.  Aurelio Umali.

    “Huge big ticket projects  are now either under implementation or  are set to  be implemented  that will provide job opportunities and the  opening up of businesses in various fronts,”  Umali said  in a dialogue  with newsmen here recently.

    Among them, the  governor said, are the business hub and government center, the  P80-million “bagsakan center”, the transfer of  the National Bilibid Prison (NBP) to the province,  the construction of an expressway from Tarlac  to San Jose City, and some other big private  businesses.

    Estimates  show that the projects mentioned  by the governor have a total development costs of at least P70 billion. For  the  transfer of the NBP  inside the Fort Magsay-say camp alone, which was already green-lighted  by the National  Economic  and Development Authority (NEDA), the  construction cost will be more than P50 billion. 

    Umali said the  P1.6  billion business hub and government center will  be developed starting this month on a 3.4-hectare  in  Barangay Singalat in Palayan City, about 18  kilometers north of here.

    It will be bankrolled by  the MTD Philippines, a  subsidiary of Malaysian Conglomorate ALLOY MTD, in cooperation  with the provincial government of Nueva Ecija on a build-operate-transfer scheme. The site was made  available through the efforts of Palayan City Mayor  Adrianne Mae Cuevas, the governor said.

    “When completed,  it will generate 13,000 jobs, 10,000 of which will  be in call center, with the rest to come from the  operations of the various commercial establishments,  the hotel and  the national government offices,” Umali said 

    Facilities of this project include buildings for  government offices with retail and commercialspaces, two state-ofthe- art business process  outsourcing (BPO) buildings, a 75-room  business  hotel and a plaza to serve as activity center. Umali said currently  under construction is an P80-million  bagsakan center” in Barangay Caalibangbangan here. 

    The center, which will serve as a trading post  for various  Nueva Ecija–  produced products, is jointly financed by the  Department of Agriculture and the provincial government,  he said. The Central Luzon Link Expressway(CLLEx), on the other  hand, has a total length of 65.4  kilometers.

    To be connected to the Subic- Clark-Tarlac Expressway  (SCTEx), it will diverge 2.5 kilometers  north of  the Luisita Interchange  and will wind up to San Jose City passing  thru Cabanatuan City. Its construction will be in  two phases.

    Phase I of the project which will end up in this  city has a construction cost of P11.359 billion. It  will be  started third quarter  of this year, the governor said.  Phase II of the project, from this city to San  Jose City, is 35.7  km. in road length with a construction cost of P7.64  billion. It will be constructed after the completion  of the Phase I  of  CLLEx.

     But the “mother of  all infrastructure projects” coming to Nueva  Ecija are the facilities  of the P50.18-      billion national penitentiary on a 500-hectare area in Barangay  Nazareth in Gen. Tinio town . The site is  within the army reservation.

    Officials said the  construction of the prison  facilities in Fort Magsaysay will need about  40, 000 workers. In addition,  the facilities will  need some 4,800 custodial  and rehabilitation officers and 9,000 people  for prison maintenance. 

    When completed, the facilities can accommodate  26,880 inmates from the NBP and the  Correctional Institution for Women (CIW).. Department of Justice  DOJ) UndersecretaryFrancisco Baraan, who  is the department’s upervising official of the Bureau of Correctionsand the NBP, said during a public hearing in  Calayan City last year that the new “bilibid’s” facility will follow international standards.

    “I can assure you that this prison  facility will have the 4Ms with it : maganda, malinis,  maayos, maaliwalas (elegant, clean, orderly and  with a cozy  ambience),”  he said. “The place and the facilities can even  become a tourism mecca,” he added. 

    The NBP’s new site is a few kilometers from the 2,018-hectare Minalungao National  Park centered along  the scenic  Peñaranda River bordered on both  sides by up to 16-meter  high limestone walls on the foothills of the Sierra  Made range.

    Aside from the unique rock formations, the park owns  subterranean caverns. Umali said the NBP’s  transfer to Nueva Ecija  will trigger production of more food products and  opening up of several business enterprises to      serve the needs of the inmates as well as the  thousands of their close relatives and friends  who will visit them every   now and then. 

    In this city, under construction in a 13.5-hectare  site along the Maharlika Highway in Barangay H. Concepcion,is the SM City Cabanatuan  shopping mall. It is heralded by officials of the SM Supermalls  as the  biggest of  their malls in Luzon outside  of Metro Manila. It is set to operate during  the fourth quarter of this  year.  

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