Infra projects to receive perks—BoI

Manila Standard Today

The Board of Investments has included infrastructure projects to the list of preferred economic activities or industries that are entitled to fiscal incentives this year, BoI documents show Thursday.

The draft, a BoI source said, would undergo public hearings to incorporate proposals from the proponents of infrastructure projects.

The BoI retained a number of preferred economic activities under the proposed 2011 list and removed cement, steel, and disaster prevention, mitigation and recovery.

The draft list includes agricultural and fishery that cover commercial production and processing as well as their by-products and wastes. Agriculture and fishery-related activities such as irrigation, post-harvest, cold storage and blast freezing facilities are grouped in the same sector.

Creative industries that cover business process outsourcing, IT and IT-enabled services and film and performing arts production joined the list.

Shipbuilding, including the construction and repair of ships, will also be entitled to fiscal incentives.

Mass housing, or the development of low-cost mass housing, is retained in the list, as well as energy, including exploration, development, and use of indigenous energy sources and clean coal technology.

The infrastructure projects, meanwhile, cover transport, water, logistics, waste management facilities, tollroads, highways, railways and roads, and pipeline projects for oil and gas.

Research and development and the establishment of testing laboratories, centers of excellence and skills development training institutions formed part of the 2011 draft.

Also included are green projects covering the manufacture of goods leading to either the efficient use of energy or reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

The investment body retained tourism activities, or those that include the establishment of accommodation facilities, resorts, retirement villages and healthcare and wellness facilities.

The BoI said strategic projects that exhibit very high social economic returns and significantly contribute to the country’s economic development. This also covers motor vehicle assembly and the manufacture of parts and components. Julito G. Rada