Iron, steel, hospitals in BOI’s priority list

Two areas that the Board of Investments (BOI) see as areas to fuel more investments in the country are added in the Preferred Investment priority lists of this years Annual Invesment Priority Plan.

Iron and Steel and Hospital/Medical Services are the new items included in the plan prepared by the BOI aimed to encourage more growth in the economy through identified priority areas, said Lawyer Bobby G. Fondevilla, regional director of the BOI.

The BOI is an agency under the Department of Trade and Industry which is responsible for the promotion of investments in the country.

It’s required to study and pinpoint the areas for investment that the government will promote and support such as giving them incentives.

The 13 categories listed under the Preferred Investment List this year and eight under the Mandatory List, which included the Tourism Industry as an investment priority area.

“Iron and Steel covers basic iron and steel products, long steel products and flat hot or cold-rolled products. We see this as an important area because there are a lot of other sectors and industries that will need iron and steel products like building infrastructure, it supports shipbuilding, mass housing and other infrasructure projects that will fuel more development,” said Fondevilla.

The other new category is Hospital/Medical Services that covers establishment and operation of primary and secondary hospitals that will support the thrust of the government to prioritize health and wellbeing of the Filipinos, said Fondevilla.

Under the Mass Housing category, a new subcategory was added which is the production of modular housing components that uses indigenous materials.

“We noticed that most of our modular housing components are exported and we’d like to encourage more investments on ventures that will capitalize on what we have available locally and minimize exportation,” said Fondevilla.

Other categories under the Preferred Investments List include Agribusiness, Creative/Knowledge-base, Disaster Prevention, Mitigation and Recovery, Ship Building, Energy, Infrastructure, Research and Development, Green Projects, Motor Vehicles and Strategic Projects.

“Strategic Projects is a generic category. This covers projects that exhibit very high social economic returns that will significantly contribute to the country’s economic development. All you need to do is submit a proposal to BOI and we will review this to decide if it can be covered in the IPP,” said

Fondevilla.

The eight items under the Mandatory List include Industrial Tree Plantation; Exploration, Mining, Quarrying and Processing of Minerals; Publication or Printing of Books; Refining, Storage, Marketing and Distribution of Petroleum Products; Ecological Solid Waste Management; Clean Water Projects; Rehabilitation, Self-Development and Self-Reliance of People with Disability; Tourism; and, Renewable Energy.