MARIVELES, Bataan – Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan (AFAB) is now inviting investors on healthcare industry to put up business inside the eco-industrial zone which is blessed with marine and mountain resources.
Although the Freeport Area of Bataan (FAB) primarily hosts manufacturing companies, AFAB Chairman Emmanuel Pineda has expressed confidence that the growing healthcare industry may find niche in this populated town.
Of the province’s 12 city/municipalities, Mariveles has the biggest population with 127,536.
However, the town lacks a government-run hospital and a premier healthcare facility.
In response, AFAB, in coordination with the provincial government of Bataan, is currently preparing for the operation of the first hospital in the freeport.
“The hospital already has high-end medical equipment donated by the GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant Ltd. Co. and Philippine Minnesotan Medical Association. The first Mariveles Hospital will ensure that the medical needs and requirements of potential and existing investors in the FAB will be attended to,” AFAB said in a statement.
With this development, Pineda said FAB is one of the best zones in the country with promising future for the healthcare industry.
Inside the freeport, there are 96 local and international enterprises employing a total of 32,293 workers, based on the November 2016 data from AFAB.
“Healthcare presents an opportunity for eco-zones like the FAB where the medical tourism angle can be built on,” he said.
FAB currently hosts mostly business process outsourcing and manufacturing companies.
“Foreign firms can also manufacture healthcare equipment in the FAB,” he stressed.
The FAB is the emerging fashion manufacturing hub of the Philippines, as it possesses a budding cluster of companies producing high-end brands of garments, apparel, shoes and accessories, like bags, jewelries, among others. (CLJD/JMMG-PIA 3)