MEXICO CITY – Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto said that his government has established a financing package through the development bank to support private companies investing in the country’s seven special economic zones.

“The national development bank is ready ... to provide a financing package for the entire private sector and for companies that decide to invest in these seven zones,” Peña Nieto said during the signing on Tuesday of an executive order establishing the two most recent special economic zones in Campeche and Tabasco states.

During the event, which took place in the southeastern state of Campeche, the president said that the financing package will consist of 50 billion pesos (about $2.77 billion) for private companies willing to establish economic activities in these regions.

In 2016, Peña Nieto signed into law a bill launching the country’s special economic zones, which aim to spur productivity and growth in the south of Mexico.

There are now seven special economic zones in Mexico, including the two most recent ones established in Campeche and Tabasco, as well five others located in Puerto Chiapas, Coatzacoalcos (in the state of Veracruz), Lazaro Cardenas (in Michoacan), Progreso (in Yucatan) and Salina Cruz (in Oaxaca).

Peña Nieto said that the special economic zones created in Campeche and Tabasco will help diversify local economies and revert the impacts of the drop in the price and production of oil, which has severely affected these two oil-rich states.

“It was crucial to open another space, another niche of opportunity, which is why these special economic zones were designed,” the president said, who will end his term on Nov. 30.

The country’s industrial sector is mainly located in central and northern Mexico, in large part due to the proximity to the United States, where 80 percent of Mexican exports are sent.

Mexico’s south and southeast have long been the country’s poorest regions, yet are also resource rich, which is why the special economic zones have been established there.

In addition to the financing package, the special economic zones also provide tax incentives.

“The tax incentives will guarantee that companies and investments arrive,” Peña Nieto said.