By Mae Singuay -Friday, June 14, 2024
BACOLOD City – The Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI) has called on the Negros Island Region’s (NIR) Regional Development Council (RDC) to undertake serious planning to encourage the national government to invest in vital infrastructure projects.
BACOLOD City – The Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI) has called on the Negros Island Region’s (NIR) Regional Development Council (RDC) to undertake serious planning to encourage the national government to invest in vital infrastructure projects.
Frank Carbon, chief executive officer of MBCCI, stressed the need for improved infrastructure, including airports, seaports, interprovincial road networks, and telecommunications, following the signing of Senate Bill 2507 into law by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on June 13.
The new law establishes the NIR, encompassing the provinces of Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor.
“If these infrastructures are put in place or improved, the private and business sectors, both local and foreign, will invest billions, creating livelihoods and well-paying jobs,” said Carbon.
“Gradually, we will eradicate poverty and insurgency and improve the lives of the bottom 50 percent of Filipinos,” he added.
Carbon emphasized that integrating the two provinces of Negros Island with the tourist island of Siquijor will attract more developmental investments from both public and private sectors.
“More investments will create more and better-paying jobs that will help eradicate poverty and insurgency,” he said.
Improving land transport and telecommunications to connect the five million residents of the three provinces will boost the region’s spending power, Carbon noted.
“Our consumer economy will be greatly enhanced, but we must improve the supply and affordability of power,” he explained. “Without adequate and affordable power and water, private investors will not come, leading to a lack of investments, jobs, and livelihoods.”/PN