DTI certifies P3 trillion projects for green lane processing

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has certified 102 projects worth P3 trillion for green lane processing.

“As of July 16, there have been 102 certified projects in green lanes involving a total project cost of P3 trillion,” Trade Secretary and Board of Investments (BOI) chairman Alfredo Pascual told reporters.

Trade Undersecretary and BOI managing head Ceferino Rodolfo said most of these projects are expected to register with the BOI.

“(The implementation of) green lanes is an important reform that is really attracting investors,” Pascual said.

Executive Order 18 issued in February last year, directed the creation and implementation of green lanes to expedite and streamline government processes for the entry of strategic investments.

Meanwhile, Pascual said 1,090 projects with investments amounting to P2.73 trillion have been approved by the BOI and Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) from July 2022 until May of this year.

Of the total figure, 658 projects with P2.4 billion worth of investments were approved by the BOI, while 432 projects with investments amounting to P331 billion were registered with the PEZA.

Pascual said most of the projects approved by the BOI are in the renewable energy (RE) sector.

He attributed this to the reform in the RE sector allowing 100 percent foreign ownership.

As for the PEZA, he said many of the projects involve manufacturing.

He said the approved investments by the BOI and PEZA are expected to generate a total of 182,000 jobs.

He also said there are 210 projects with a total cost of $60.9 billion in various stages as a result of the presidential visits, excluding public-private partnerships.

Of these projects, 20 worth $1.26 billion are in Category 6 or already started operations.

Meanwhile, 23 projects amounting to $1.6 billion are in Category 5 or have registered with the investment promotion agency (IPA).

Pascual also said there are 30 projects worth $16 billion in Category 4 or those in the process of registering with the IPA.