To enhance industrial growth in Mindanao, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) has identified potential locations in Mindanao for self-generating industrial parks (SGIPs).
An SGIP is an industrial zone designed to generate power through renewable energy (RE) sources and without depending on the national grid. Last October, PEZA and the Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) entered a strategic partnership to develop these SGIPs.
(Also read: Nearly 3,000 MW of renewable energy projects in the pipeline for Mindanao)
PEZA Director General Tereso Panga told the BusinessMirror that Tawi-Tawi, Sulu, Basilan, and the Dinagat Islands have been identified as potential SGIP locations in Mindanao and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Self-sufficient in basic utilities such as water and power, SGIPs are designed to attract energy-intensive industries such as agro-processing, semiconductor production, and EV manufacturing.
“These are the most promising, strategic, and high-impact sectors across ASEAN. For this purpose, PEZA and PNOC have teamed up in evaluating the government-initiated SGIP in Tawi-Tawi,” Panga said.
Energy connectivity for economic growth
The PNOC and Pertamina, Indonesia’s state-owned oil and natural gas corporation, did a scoping visit in Tawi-Tawi last month to study the viability of using a liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility to energize off-grid islands and power an SGIP in Pababag, Bongao.
(Also read: DOE Mindanao in need of more energy sources for energy security)
Tawi-Tawi is the country’s largest seaweed producer and is a significant source of carrageenan, a substance used in food, cosmetics, and medicine. It is a mariculture industry that PEZA is hoping to boost through ecozone development.
“For Tawi-Tawi, we are exploring the Aqua-Marine park model to allow for mariculture, marine energy generation, and hydrogen/oxygen production (for refueling of marine vessels given Tawi-Tawi’s strategic location as a transshipment hub in the region),” Panga shared.
“This will also attract our ecozone locators into processing of carrageenan and other global investors to set up facilities in Tawi-Tawi. This province is ripe for becoming the next frontier in ecozone development and as a prime investment destination in the BIMP-EAGA (Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area) area,” Panga added.
As part of the government’s initiative to decentralize economic opportunities, the creation of these SGIPs is expected to generate more jobs and attract both local and foreign investments, particularly in remote areas that are otherwise cut off from the national grid, providing energy connectivity and inclusive economic growth.
Sources:
https://business.inquirer.net/507335/self-powered-industrial-parks-eyed-in-mindanao-peza
https://tribune.net.ph/2025/02/17/peza-explores-forming-sgip-in-vismin
https://tribune.net.ph/2025/02/17/peza-explores-forming-sgip-in-vismin
