THREE more projects worth P15.35 billion have been endorsed by the One-Stop Action Center for Strategic Investments (OSACSI) for green lane treatment this month, bringing the total value of such projects to P4.552 trillion, a Board of Investments (BoI) official said.
BoI Investment Assistance Service and OSACSI Director Ernesto C. delos Reyes, Jr. said that three projects in the renewable energy (RE) industry were endorsed this month.
“Most of these are solar projects,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) event on Thursday.
The recent endorsements brought the total number of green lane-certified projects to 179.
Of the total, 144 are RE projects worth P4.15 trillion. These accounted for 80.45% of the certified projects.
Investments in RE projects increased after the government allowed full foreign ownership in the industry. Foreign ownership had previously been capped at 40%.
Eight digital infrastructure projects were also endorsed for green-lane treatment worth P352.13 billion. These accounted for 7.74% of total endorsements.
Meanwhile, 23 projects involved food security and were valued at P14.37 trillion.
Completing the list were four manufacturing projects worth P36.91 billion.
According to Mr. Delos Reyes, six of the green lane-certified projects are already operational. Three of which are in the RE sector, two are digital infrastructure projects, and one is in food security.
Three of the projects are in the preoperational stages — two in RE and one in food security.
Meanwhile, 37 of the projects are undergoing construction. These comprise 19 RE projects, four digital infrastructure projects, 10 projects in food security, and four manufacturing projects.
Bulk, or 133 of the projects, are still in pre-development stages. These are 120 RE projects, two digital infrastructure projects, and 11 projects in food security.
In February 2023, the government established Executive Order (EO) No. 18, the “green lane” system at all government offices, expediting approvals and permits for strategic investments.
“Inspired by the valuable feedback from our investors, particularly our foreign partners, we are excited to see green lane’s activities taking shape. The dedicated hand-holding assistance offered by our Greenlane focal persons across various agencies is a significant driver of our progress,” said Mr. Delos Reyes.
“With the government’s strategic approach guiding us, we believe in our collective ability to accomplish the goals of EO 18. Together, we aspire to achieve the target timelines for the start of commercial operations of these strategic projects or even sooner than expected,” he added. — Justine Irish D. Tabile