BOI sets 2001 investment target at P169 B

Government is eyeing P168.928-billion worth of investments in 2001, including the long-planned P54-billion Metro Manila Subway project of the Italian led consortium, Metro Manila Subway Project Corp.

Documents from the Board of Investments (BOI) show that the government has lined up "investment leads " for 2001, including build-operate-transfer (BOT) projects that will require government counterpart financing.

The projects in the pipeline are in various stages of negotiation with their respective proponents and possible investors in such sectors as agriculture, manufacturing, information technology, mining, infrastructure, utilities, automotive and garments.

The bigger projects, in terms of amount, are expensive public infrastructure projects which former Trade Secretary Manuel Roxas III had earlier removed from the investments target to determine the extent of private sector participation in investment generation.

After Roxas left, however, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) resumed counting BOT projects, making no distinction between government-initiated and private sector-initiated projects.

Big-ticket items are top-billed by the subway project which is estimated to cost a total of P54 billion. The BOI document indicates that the subway, which will follow the old line of the Philippine National Railway, has been presented to the President for approval pending the finalization of the financial study.

The second biggest item in the pipeline is a mining project estimated to cost P32 billion, proposed by a company identified only as QNI. The BOI said it has so far met only once with the company’s Philippine representative with no definite plans yet except for the estimated cost.

The third biggest item is another BOT project, a P15-billion water treatment facility in Cebu, to be undertaken by an Australian company called Aluminates Water Treatment Pty. Ltd.

This project has been pending since 1999 when the Department of Trade and Industry appraised the company of the qualifications for registration under the Investments Priority Program.

Several other water projects are also in the pipeline, including a P9-billion water project also for Cebu and a P6-billion water project in Bulacan, both proposed by Vivendi of France.

According to the BOI, Vivendi is undertaking the project with the Aboitiz Group as joint venture partner but it has been shelved pending the availability of additional government incentives.

The BOI documents reveal that government is also actively pursuing a proposed alumina refinery estimated to cost P19 billion, with an unidentified Canadian firm as possible investor.

The BOI list indicates that P69 billion of the projects lined up for 2001 will come from investors in Europe and Middle East, while P50.244 billion will come from Southeast Asia and Australia.

Some P38 billion is expected to come from North America for businesses in electronics, IT, telecommunications, processing, manufacturing and food while P7 billion is expected to come from China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, mainly on electronics, garments and automotive assembly. – Des Ferriols