THE Board of Investments (BoI) said it has endorsed 167 projects valued at P4.614 trillion to the One-Stop Action Center for Strategic Investments for green-lane treatment as of Feb. 18.
Authorized by Executive Order No. 18 in February 2023, green lanes allow expedited processing of permits for investments deemed strategic.
Foreign-invested projects only accounted for P1.652 trillion, reflecting strong interest in strategic projects from domestic investors.
Renewable energy (RE) projects accounted for P4.211 trillion of the green lane-certified projects. These comprise 149 projects.
Investments in RE projects increased after the government allowed full foreign ownership in the industry, which was previously capped at 40%.
“As you can see, most of the green-lane projects we are facilitating are under the RE sector as we are pushing towards the goal of at least 50% in our energy mix that are coming from RE by 2040,” BoI Executive Director Bobby G. Fondevilla said at a British Chamber of Commerce Philippines event last week.
Six digital infrastructure projects worth P352.129 billion were also endorsed for green-lane treatment, while 23 projects related to food security worth P14.368 billion were also certified.
Meanwhile, four manufacturing projects worth P36.905 billion were deemed eligible for green-lane status.
“Most of these projects are still in their pre-development stages, and our team is working together with them in the facilitation of their permits and licenses so that they can achieve their target timelines,” Mr. Fondevilla said.
Meanwhile, the BoI is hoping to launch an investor guidebook by June with a focus on three industries.
“We have a tentative schedule (to release it) by June. It will focus on at least three sectors: pharmaceuticals, digital infrastructure, and RE,” Mr. Fondevilla said.
He said the rules are subject to change because the guidebook was compiled from information on agency websites, some of which may not be updated. — Justine Irish D. Tabile