BoI seen hitting P1.5-T investment target
The Board of Investment is expecting to hit its P1.5-trillion target investment for the year through the massive renewable energy projects that have entered the country and will be launched in the coming months.
Trade Undersecretary and BoI Managing Head Ceferino Rodolfo said the Philippine government and its partners are setting up to announce five major RE projects, which can be leveraged to advance its agenda of transforming the country into an investment hotspot.
“Renewable energy projects are so abundant right now. We are confident that we will get the P1.5 trillion, because of these, particularly the offshore wind projects,” Rodolfo said in an interview with reporters last week.
He also pointed out that the Philippines’ sustainability-driven initiatives caught the attention of big-time foreign investors.
‘RE projects are so abundant right now; we are confident that we will meet the P1.5 trillion investment target because of these projects, particularly offshore wind projects. A minimum five RE projects each at least $2 billion will enter this year’
Renewable energy projects
“At least five RE projects will enter this year. At the very least, each project will be $2 billion. That’s the average we see for offshore wind. That means (we can get) about P100 billion immediately,” he added.
He also added that the Department of Energy’s decision to allow foreign investors or foreign-owned entities to explore, develop, and utilize renewable energy available in the country opened up more opportunities for the power sector.
Floating solar projects
To recall, the DoE recently turned over more than half of the $1.7 billion worth of large-scale floating solar projects to be installed on the water surface of Laguna Lake to SunAsia Energy and Blueleaf Energy.
The DoE turned over six out of 10 Solar Energy Operating Contracts with a combined capacity of 610.5 megawatts for the construction of its large-scale floating solar projects. Each contract has a 25-year operating period.
Initially, the Department of Trade and Industry set a P1-trillion investment target for the year, but with a “very healthy flow of investment project applications during the first month of the year,” the agency hiked its target to P1.5 trillion.