Manila: The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) reported Tuesday that its Board of Directors has approved PHP6.978 billion of investments from 21 new and expansion projects. In a statement, PEZA said these project registrations were approved during a board meeting at the West Cebu Estate in Balamban, Cebu last Aug. 27. According to PEZA, six of the approved projects are in the manufacturing sector, six information technology (IT) enterprises, four ecozone development, and one each in agro-industrial, facilities enterprise, ecozone utilities, ecozone domestic enterprise, and ecozone logistics service enterprise. It added these investments are projected to boost Philippine exports by USD96.6 million annually. These projects will also create 2,300 direct jobs, particularly in areas where these investments are located-Pampanga, Tarlac, General Santos City, Batangas, Cavite, Davao, Laguna, Cebu, and Metro Manila. With the registered projects last month, total PEZA approvals for the first eight months of the year have reached PHP61.695 billion. 'From January to August 2024, the total impact of investments and expansions on job generation amounted to 31,827, which is 72.91 percent higher compared to the 18,407 jobs created in the same period last year,' PEZA Director General Tereso Panga said. 'New investments are expected in the coming months as a result of our participation in the China International Fair for Investment and Trade, the Philippine-Singapore Business Investment Summit, and other outbound missions lined up for the year,' he added. Source: Philippines News Agency