More investments in pipeline, says Pascual
THE Board of Investments (BoI) said that numerous investments are in the pipeline to boost the country’s economy and generate employment opportunities.
“Rest assured that there are many projects in the pipeline that will boost the country’s economy and provide employment for Filipinos,” Trade Secretary and BoI Chairman Alfredo Pascual said on Tuesday following the inauguration of the InfiniVAN-initiated submarine cable project.
The Express Route of the Philippine Domestic Submarine Cable Network (PDSCN) was inaugurated on February 15. It covers around 2,500 kilometers and stands as the country’s longest and highest capacity domestic submarine fiber cable network.
The PDSCN aims to provide reliable and affordable internet services to Filipinos. It has launched its services in areas such as Iloilo, Bacolod, Boracay, Caticlan, Pinamalayan, Surigao, Palanas, Bulan and Placer.
“We were convinced then, and more so now, that introducing healthy competition in the telecom industry will encourage more foreign infrastructure investments in the sector, improve quality of service and bring service prices down to more reasonable levels,” InfiniVAN Inc. Chairman Koji Miyashita said.
He added that they have allocated additional funds for the enhancement of fiber optic backbone infrastructure covering toll roads, Philippine National Railway routes and the Metro Manila Subway Project, among various other projects.
“We are also looking into building new submarine cable landing stations for international cables as well as facilitating the launch of a Philippine flagship satellite,” Miyashita said.
On the other hand, the BoI also announced the launch of the first
fully contained and computer-controlled indoor hydroponic tulip farm in the country. Spearheaded by the Phinl Corp., the project has an investment of P157.4 million.
The facility currently provides 42 jobs locally, offering opportunities for technology transfer, skill enhancement and future expansion as the company scales up production in the upcoming years.
“The success of Phinl’s climatecontrolled tulip farm in the country demonstrates our commitment to innovation and sustainability in agriculture. We are proud to welcome pioneers in this field and look forward to contributing to the growth of the local floral industry,” said Corazon Dichosa, BoI executive director for Industry Development Services.
Located in Maddela, Quirino province, BoI said that the Dutch-Filipino project is a breakthrough in local agriculture as it cultivates high-quality tulips in a subtropical climate.
“The Phinl project exemplifies our efforts at the BoI, in conjunction with the Department of Agriculture, to promote sustainability in agriculture. We’ve been approving projects that are scalable and utilize cutting-edge technologies,” said Pascual.
He also said that they have approved projects ranging from integrated dairy farms to modern vegetable farms and hybrid seed production system over the past quarter. Pascual added that some of these ventures are in regions typically viewed as challenging.