Mayor, Chinese bizmen discuss Cotabato City infra projects

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Potential foreign investors were in Cotabato City over the weekend to discuss planned infrastructure projects seen to boost the local economy.

Halima Satol-Ibrahim, city information officer, said Monday visiting technocrats led by Yibin Liu also assured Mayor Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi of their readiness to put up a technical skills learning center in the city with adequate facilities.

The group of Liu — senior representative of the China Engineering Construction Company in Shenzhen City in Guangdong, China — confirmed on Sunday a plan to put up a modern airport and seaport in Cotabato City to boost domestic trading.

The series of meetings between local officials and the Chinese visitors were witnessed by key members of local business organizations.

"There was candid and cordial exchange of insights on commerce and trade during the engagements between our city mayor and the group of Mr. Liu," Satol-Ibrahim said on Monday morning.

Liu and his companions — Tingting Yan, Lianjun Zhang, Rongsheng Zhan and European investor Anatoly Juanott of Toma Capita Inc. — were given extensive briefings on Cotabato City’s investment potentials by the city mayor and her technical staff.

Guiani-Sayadi, chairperson of the inter-agency city peace and order council, said Monday that the visit is a clear indication of confidence in the local business climate.

The mayor, who can speak Chinese, received in recent months special citations from different state agencies for leading the law-enforcement campaigns of the city police and other domestic peace-building initiatives.

A matrix obtained from the Police Regional Office-12 in General Santos City and from the 6th Infantry Division indicated a 46 percent drop in crimes in its 37 barangays in 2017 if compared to 2015 and 2016 statistics.

In her state of the city address last week, Guiani-Sayadi emphasized that she would focus on improving the local economy to generate better employment opportunities for local Muslim, Christian and Lumad sectors.