Mindanao secures P3.7B to fund energy, agri projects

Mindanao has secured $84.6 million, or roughly P3.7 billion, worth of investments for big-ticket projects in the agriculture and energy sectors, which are expected to help spur the economy of the island.

In a statement, the Department of Trade and Industry said the projects were the $33.5-million coffee plantation in Sultan Kudarat; the $33.5-million oil palm plantation in North Cotabato; an oil depot in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) worth $9.8 million; and a $7.8-million corn processing facility to be put up in South Cotabato.

The projects were an offshoot of the business matching sessions held during the 2nd BIMP-EAGA and IMT-GT Trade Fair and Business Leaders’ Conference, which was organized by the Mindanao Development Authority (Minda) in Davao last month.

BIMP-EAGA stands for Brunei Darussalam Indonesia Malaysia the Philippines East Asean Growth Area, while IMT-GT stands for Indonesia Malaysia Thailand Growth Triangle.

The two subregional groupings were formed to promote trade, investment and tourism with national and subnational focus areas.

“This is considered as this year’s largest subregional trade fair and business gathering involving five countries in the Asean,” said Trade Undersecretary Prudencio M. Reyes Jr., the country’s senior official to BIMP-Eaga.

“The historic convergence of BIMP-Eaga and IMT-GT provides a platform for the Asean Economic Community, with its theme, ‘Realizing the Opportunities of Asean Integration,”’ he added.

The trade trade fair and conference generated more than $196 million (or roughly P8.9 billion) in investments and booked sales.

Of the amount, $132.26 million comprised of the prospective investments, while $64 million represented the booked sales of the Philippines and Malaysia during the trade fair.

Other events featured during the trade fair were an importers and exporters conference and information sessions on the forthcoming Asean Economic Community 2015 which focused on the industries of aquaculture, coconut, livestock and poultry, and fruits and vegetables. These discussions were aimed at promoting regional cooperation within BIMP-Eaga, among the Asean member states, and across the Asia Pacific region.

According to reports, the five-day event attracted more than 25,000 local and international participants from Canada, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and the United States.