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Investments nearly triple in Jan.-Feb.

March 15, 2011

Manila Bulletin

MANILA, Philippines – Investments in the first two months of the year jumped 184.7 percent to P28.237 billion or almost tripling the P9.917 billion investments generated in the same period last year, the Board of Investments said.

BoI executive director Lucita Reyes said the new projects were approved under Book 1 of the Omnibus Investments Code, which means investments in regional headquarters and ROHQ.


The investments represent the combined cost of the 36 projects approved, which is higher than the 22 projects approved in the January-February period last year.


“The first two months performance would show that we would be able to surpass our target of P258 billion or even maintain our 2010 performance of P300 billion,” Reyes said.


Reyes said these projects are expected to create 5,007 employment once they become fully operational. The employment generation, however, is 15.6 percent down from 4,225 job opportunities for the 22 projects that were registered in the same first two months last year.


The big ticket items approved in the first two months of the year are in the renewable energy sector of Energy Development Corp. for its P14.447 billion 86-megawatt wind power plant.


This makes a total of four wind power projects in Ilocos Norte. These include the North Wind power project in Pangui, Pagudpud, which is operational already, the 120-mw project of Energy Logic Philippines and the new EDC project.


Another big RE project is the P5.192 billion Canlaon Alco Green Agro Industrial Corp. for the production of bio-ethanol and by-products. (BCM)