BOI: Green lane program nets P4.29 trillion in investments

The Board of Investments (BOI) has certified P4.29 trillion worth of projects under the government’s green lane program as of the end of September, with the renewable energy sector getting the bulk of the registered business ventures.

During his presentation at the forum organized by the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines held at the Securities and Exchange Commission’s headquarters in Makati, BOI Director Ernesto Delos Reyes Jr. said this portfolio spans 158 projects.

Of these 158 projects, 128 are in the renewable energy sector, six are in digital infrastructure, 22 in food security and two are in manufacturing.

Delos Reyes also said that the government is working on a supplementary bill for the executive order, which created the green lane program, and that they are drafting a joint memorandum circular, which includes 38 government agencies, to form an investment facilitation network and make it even easier to set up a business here.

“We will implement simultaneous processing of applications for strategic investments, including the issuance of a provisional permit provided that the company has issued an affidavit of undertaking to submit complete requirements within a prescribed period of time,” Delos Reyes said.

Streamlined process

The government launched the green lane program under Executive Order No. 18 in February 2023.

It was meant to expedite, streamline and automate government approval and registration processes for investments deemed as a priority or strategic.

Aside from the investments listed under the green lane program, the BOI official also touted that they have approved P1.35 trillion worth of investments so far this year, marking a record-high performance for the investment promotions agency.

The January to September posting also marks an 82-percent increase from the P741.98 billion worth of projects seeking government incentives recorded in the same period last year.

“These projects will generate more than 230,000 jobs for Filipinos. Of course, the top sector from all this is the renewable energy [sector],” the BOI official said. INQ