DUMAGUETE CITY — A number of mega projects that will benefit the province of Negros Oriental are gaining headway after they were recently approved during the meeting of the Regional Development Council (RDC).
Dumaguete-based businessman Edward Du, the regional governor of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) and former head of the Negros Oriental Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NOCCI), on Friday identified these projects as the international seaport, airport, and ecozone, all in Bacong town, and the bridges that will link Cebu, Bohol and Leyte or the NECEBOLEY project.
He said the 3-in-1 project in Bacong has been approved by the RDC and is awaiting funding from concerned government agencies — the Department of Transportation (DOTr) for the airport, the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) for the international seaport, and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) for the ecozone.
So far, an initial funding of USD100 million is available from the DOTr through the Korean government.
Meanwhile, an additional call center is scheduled to open here on November 15.
The Manila-based firm hopes to hire 2,000 employees from Dumaguete and the province after joining the latest job fair under the Provincial Public Service Employment Office (PESO) headed by Jose Ramon Benedicto.
According to Du, the call center in Bagacay is probably the 5th largest of the more than 25 Business Process Outsourcing (BPOs) companies all over the province, including Qualfon, Teletech and SPI.
NOCCI also said two more hospitals are expected to open in Dumaguete and Sibulan before the year ends.
Moreover, a PHP500-million convention center is expected to rise at a lot across the road adjacent to the Negros Oriental Provincial Hospital.
Du, however, said that even with the forthcoming hotel and convention center construction, Dumaguete and Negros Oriental still have a shortage of hotel rooms.
“These are indications that the province is booming. The additional hospitals and hotel rooms complement the requirement for a city to become a retirement-friendly city,” he said. (Juancho Gallarde/PNA)
