Mindanao’s registered investment for 2019 saw an impressive rise totaling to P 94.7 billion from January to April equivalent to 420 percent increase compared to P 18.2 billion in the same period of 2018, the Board of Investments (BOI) reported.
BOI revealed that four out of five largest investments in the region are under the manufacturing industry with the biggest being the Silangan Mindanao Mining Co., Inc.’s P 57.8-billion pledge in Surigao del Norte for copper cathode, gold ore, and copper concentrate production.
Other manufacturing industry investment includes Republic Cement Ilagan, Inc.’s P 18-billion cement production plant plan in Lanao del Norte, an unspecified project in Misamis Oriental by SteelAsia Villanueva Works, Inc. worth P 12.1 billion, and the P 994 million project of Millenium Specialty Coco Products, Inc. in Davao region.
The fifth biggest investment, on the other hand, is from Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, Inc. which is a P 990-million worth of logistic facility in South Cotabato.
“This is expected. Most of the committed investments and projects in the early part of the Duterte administration are now past feasibilities, most of those are now implemented thus the reason of the increase,” Mindanao Development Authority (Minda) public relations officer Adrian Tamayo told SunStar.com.
Caraga region had the most investments amounting to P 57.87 billion, followed by Northern Mindanao’s P 31.97 billion, then Davao region with P 2.7 billion, and Soccsksargen with P 2.1 billion. These investments are expected to create 7,010 jobs in the region.
Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. president Art Milan is optimistic that the higher investment does not only mean more generated jobs in Mindanao but also improved infrastructure, more income, more revenues for the government for basic services, and better lives for Mindanaoans.
Mindanao’s other investments range from real estate and housing, food production, water supply, and agriculture.
