By Kris Crismundo/PNA
MANILA — Revenues generated by the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) during the first nine months of the current year alone has already surpassed its entire take in 2017, the agency reported Friday.
CEZA Administrator and Chief Executive Officer Raul Lambino said revenue in January to September this year reached PHP521 million, doubling from PHP224.55 million earned for the full year of 2017.
Lambino said that CEZA was able to remit PHP83.32 million in taxes to the national government in the first three quarters of the year. It was a complete turnaround from the agency’s PHP64.92 million net loss in the previous year, he added.
Lambino said CEZA’s venture into cryptocurrency and blockchain technology has given its financial performance an upward boost this year. “Growth in the economic zone will be investment-driven,” Lambino said. “CEZA will diversify.”
The CEZA chief revealed that about 50,000 jobs will be created at the Cagayan Freeport as the agency diversifies its project registration.
Aside from cryptocurrency-related projects, CEZA has signed agreements with Chinese firms seeking to put up an integrated leisure resort in the economic zone, as well as a research and development hub of magnetic levitation or maglev trains.
Meanwhile, CEZA said that revenue this year will be bigger as it will sign two deals in the gaming sector before the year end.
