A TOTAL of P37.3 billion worth of new investments were recorded in Mindanao for the year 2015, some 49 percent decrease in investments as compared to 2014’s P73.2 billion investments, the Board of Investments (BOI)-Davao Extension Office data bared.
The sharp drop, however, can be attributed to major investments on the power sector that were registered in 2014 amounting to P56,292.05.
BOI is the industry development and investments promotion arm of the Department of Trade & Industry (DTI). The aggregated investment approvals were generated from 34 projects in Mindanao for the whole year of 2015.
In 2014 a total of 40 projects were approved by the BOI in Mindanao.
“These new approved investments for the year 2015 generated a total of 5,223 job opportunities,” BOI-Davao said.
The big investments were attributed mainly to the approval of big projects from the different industries including power, agriculture, forestry and fishing, transportation, real-estate, accommodation and service and Business Process Outsourcing industry.
However, biggest bulk of the investment was contributed by the big power projects in the island.
These are the P14.8 billion combined project cost of the Hedcor Bukidnon, Inc.’s 43.4 MW Manolo Fortich 1 and 25.4 MW Manolo Fortich 2 Hydroelectric Power Projects, P5.7-B Del Sol Energy CGS, Inc.’s Solar Energy project in GenSan Phase I and II, P2.6-B project of Enfinity Philippines Renewable Resources Fourth Inc. for its 33.566 MW Solar Power Project, P 2.3 billion Power Source Philippine Energy Inc.’s 20MW coal-fired power plant project and P1.1 billion Supreme Power Corporation’s 11.9 Diesel Power Plant in Koronadal.
For the agri-business sector, Sumifru Agricultural Development Inc., poured some P5-B for its new Export Producer of Cavendish Banana with a capacity of 14 million boxes located in Bukidnon.
For the last quarter of 2015, a total of P3.9-B of new investments entered the island.
The P3.9 billion, is a combined investments for the last quarter of last year by the Pilmico Foods Corporation, Yega Development Corp., Grand Asia Integrated Natural Coco Products Corporation, Enfinity Philippines Renewable Resources Fourth Inc., Filinvest Land, Inc., Go hotels Davao Inc. and 8990 Housing Development Corporation.