BOI investment pledges surge 112% as of June

Investment pledges under the Board of Investments (BOI) more than doubled this June to P645 billion, largely because San Miguel Corp. (SMC) registered its big-ticket airport project in Bulacan province for tax breaks.

BOI pledges reached P645.3 billion as of end-June, a 112-percent increase from P304.4 billion in the same six-month period in 2019.

Out of this, the airport project accounted for more than 80 percent of the pledges, or P530.8 billion.

Other than this, there were also other projects that got registered, such as in renewable energy and logistics sectors.

Trade Secretary and BOI Chair Ramon Lopez said in a statement on Monday that the proponents reaffirmed their commitment to their registered projects, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It is important to highlight the strategic nature of the projects and their important contribution towards building a more modern Philippines,” Lopez said.

“The project proponents have reaffirmed their commitment to the immediate implementation of these [projects]—towards completion in the medium to long term. Prior to approval of the big-ticket projects, the BOI required them to provide written confirmation of their commitment,” he added.

SMC’s New Manila International Airport has been promoted as an alternative to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia), whose modernization remains uncertain because of complications in talks between the government and the private sector.

SMC’s airport complex will have an annual capacity of at least 100 million passengers, whereas Naia is only meant to serve 31 million passengers every year.

Other than this, the BOI also registered a P2.4-billion, 63-megawatt solar project by Gigasol 3 Inc. in Central Luzon, a P1.5-billion storage facility in Laguna province by Royale Cold Storage North Inc., a P1-billion brewery plant in Metro Manila by Heineken International BV and a P654-million downstream petroleum project in La Union province by Seaoil.

“The robust bounceback despite the pandemic shows the country’s resilience as we begin the transition to easing out the restrictions after a prolonged lockdown of the economy,” Lopez said. INQ