December 30, 2024 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — The Board of Investments (BOI) has endorsed 176 projects worth P4.54 trillion for expedited licensing and permit processing, with renewable energy (RE) developments leading the way.
As of Dec. 26, 141 RE projects totaling P4.13 trillion were deemed eligible for green lane processing, making up about 80 percent of the total projects certified by the BOI this year.
Also certified for green lanes are eight digital infrastructure projects worth P352.13 billion, 23 food security projects amounting to P14.37 billion and four manufacturing projects with a total investment of P36.91 billion.
Of the total certified projects, 44 have been registered with the BOI, while 132 remain as active investment leads.
Under Executive Order 18 issued in February 2023, green lanes help streamline, simplify and automate approvals for high-impact projects to ensure swift realization of the investment.
“The success of the green lane underscores the Philippines’ rising profile as a hub for strategic and sustainable investments,” BOI Investments Assistance Center executive director Bobby Fondevilla said.
“By fast-tracking approvals through EO 18, we’ve aligned these investments with our national priorities, including renewable energy development, job creation and economic resilience,” Fondevilla added.
For this month alone, the BOI certified six projects worth P39.8 billion, led by the P12.72 billion Laguna wind project in Luzon.
A green lane tag was also awarded for the three offshore wind projects of Buhawind Energy Philippines, a joint venture between Yuchengco-led PetroGreen Energy Corp. and Denmark’s Copenhagen Energy.
With a combined target installed capacity of 4,000 megawatts, these projects worth around P694 billion will be developed in Northern Luzon, northern Mindoro and east Panay.
Investments in renewables increased significantly after the government allowed full ownership in the RE sector, which was previously subject to a 40-percent cap.
This landmark move was well received by industry stakeholders, as it effectively opened the floodgates for investments, particularly capital-intensive offshore wind developments.
In particular, 46 of the total certified projects this year are majority foreign-owned, while 30 are wholly owned by companies from Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and the British Virgin Islands.
In terms of equity contributions, Denmark leads with the largest foreign investment at P416.41 billion, followed by the Netherlands (P336.93 billion), Switzerland (P310.74 billion) and Singapore (P230.38 billion).
These investments in RE bode well for the country’s target of expanding the share of renewables in the energy mix to 35 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040.
Currently, renewables only account for about 22 percent of the power generation sector.
Be the first to comment