LINGAYEN–Attracting foreign and local business investment and promotion of tourism are at the top of the Pangasinan provincial government’s agenda in 2011.

Provincial Administrator Rafael Baraan said Governor Amado Espino Jr. has set his eyes this year on the development of the planned eco-tourism zone in Lingayen, the seaport in Sual, and an airport in Lingayen.

“We will continue to receive proposals from interested investors because we have a lot of potentials in the province, particularly the Sual Coal-Fired Power Plant (SCPP) and the San Roque Multi-Purpose Project (SRMP), whose outputs must be maximized for the good of the province,” Baraan said.

The two power plants currently supply the requirements of industries in other provinces but only a small fraction of the supply is retained in Pangasinan since there are no big industries in the province.

“But if there are industrial locators and other business establishments setting up shops in Pangasinan, then we will have a better deal for our people in our province,” he pointed out.

The provincial government allocated more than 50-hectares for an industrial park in Lingayen on April 5 last year to be offered to investors, foreign and local, as a site for industrial projects that would open jobs to local labor and professionals.

At the same time, Baraan revealed that Pangasinan is aiming to become a grand awardee in all the competitions launched by the National Economic and Development Authority last year.

Last November, the province received an award from the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry as a business-friendly province, citing the numerous activities of the province geared to promote and attract investments.

He said the results of two competitions — best practices in local governance and the overall implementation of national government programs — are being awaited which he said the province is confident in winning.

Pangasinan is already a Hall of Fame awardee in Region 1 in coastal resources management and in the National Statistics Office celebration.

The province also topped in the number of tourism arrivals in the region for 2010.

At the same time, Pangasinan was adjudged in 2010 as the nation’s number one province in terms of universal insurance coverage to marginalized families, besting previous topnotcher Bukidnon and Cebu.

“All these are heart-warming developments that would make us work harder in 2011 and in the years to come,” Baraan said.—LM

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