Vista Land unit seeks BOI perks for mass housing proj

MANILA, Philippines - Household Development Corp., a subsidiary of listed firm Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc., has filed an application for registration with the Board of Investments (BOI) to qualify for incentives for a mass housing project.

In a published notice, the BOI said the company “is applying for registration with the BOI as a new developer of low cost mass housing project with a capacity of 135 low-cost mass housing units (vertical) on a non-pioneer status.”

The project, the BOI said, is located at Mercedes Avenue in Pasig City.

The company can enjoy fiscal incentives such as exemption from payment of income taxes once the BOI approves its application for registration.

The government offers incentives for preferred activities under its investment promotions blueprint, the 2012 Investment Priorities Plan (IPP).

The 2012 IPP identifies mass housing as one of the activities being promoted to attract investments.

Apart from mass housing, the 2012 IPP lists the following as preferred activities: agriculture, agribusiness and fishery; creative industries or knowledge-based services; shipbuilding; energy; infrastructure; research and development; green projects; motor vehicles; strategic projects; disaster prevention, mitigation and recovery projects; iron and steel; and hospital or medical services.

The country’s housing backlog is estimated to hit 4.65 million units by 2016.

Household Development is under Camella Homes, Inc., one of Vista Land’s business units.

Vista Land’s other business units are Brittany Corp., Crown Asia Properties, Vista Residences, Inc. and Communities Philippines Inc.

Earlier, Household Development also filed an application with the BOI for the registration of another low-cost mass housing project, Lessandra General Trias.

Lessandra General Trias which has a capacity of 285 units, is located in the province of Cavite.