Investments given Green Lane certification had breached P4.5 trillion, with renewable energy (RE) remaining the top investor among industries.
According to Board of Investments-One-Stop Action Center for Strategic Investments (OSACSI) director Ernesto De los Reyes, the P4.511 trillion total investments given the Green Lane status were from the 173 certified projects, 139 of which are from RE investments with P4.108 trillion in total cost.
Trailing RE are food security investments with 22 approved projects, amounting to P13.952 billion; digital infrastructure (P352.129 billion) and four manufacturing projects with a total of P36.905 billion.
Part of the said total amount of investments given the Green Lane status were foreign investments, with a total of P1.647 trillion.
As of 20 December, five projects in the RE given with Green Lane status are already operational, namely the Calabanga Solar Farm in Naga City, Camarines Sur; Bugallon Solar Farm in Pangasinan; Phil Towers; LDC Common Towers, and the Charoen Pokpang in South Cotabato.
Executive Order 18, or the Constituting Green Lanes for Strategic Investments, was issued by the Office of the President on 23 February 2023, which aims to expedite, streamline, and automate government approval and registration processes for priority investments or strategic investments.
8-point investments agenda
EO 18 is part of the current administration’s Eight-Point Agenda, to make the country more competitive in attracting foreign direct investments.
Key features of the EO include the creation of the OSACSI, mandatory establishment of Green Lanes across all government agencies, including Local Government Units, simultaneous processing of applications, and crafting of an Investor’s Guidebook for strategic sectors.