Zamboanga City Business Environment

ZC's readiness for massive retail establishments and investments or lack of it depends greatly on how the city's strengths are capitalized and weaknesses effectively (and not superficially addressed).

Strengths:

      (1) Huge land area. Opportunity: Expansive agricultural productivity.

Economic Underpinnings in current situation: The farmers are the poorest among the poor. Conclusion: Mismanaged or neglected

      (2) Vast and rich municipal/territorial waters.

Potential: Unlimited fishing and aquaculture productivity

Economic Underpinnings in current situation: The fisherfolks and the vast majority of aquaculture and fish production and industries stakeholders are also among the poorest among the poor.

Conclusion: Lacking pro-active attention

      (3) Climatic favorability

Opportunity: less vulnerability and expenditure consequent to climatic rampaging.

Current Situation: Not spared by flooding and tidal surges.

Conclusion: Taken for granted characterized by poor urban planning

Weaknesses:

(1) Relative negative security perceptions.

Threats: constant threat of all forms of criminality.

Current Situation: Rising crime rate

Conclusion: Addressed with mediocrity if not frigidity.

      (2) Great Distances

Threats: Challenging Transport infrastructure and systems.

Current Situation: Tiresome and boring land and sea transport

Conclusion: Overlooked

Chances: (a) State of the art transport systems and infrastructure (b) Spatial developments (c) Rural Productivity (d) Industrial competitiveness.

Final Conclusion: If and when ZC's farmers, fishermen, seaweeds growers, rubber plantation workers, forest products gatherers and factory workers can already afford even just a little higher living standards than they have today, everything else can (though not automatically will) follow.