THE Board of Investments (BOI) last week granted tax incentives and other perks to eight projects in the energy, water, manufacturing and housing industries.

BOI awarded incentives to Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc.’s P615-million project that will involve the construction of a storage, marketing and distribution facility for petroleum products in Calaca, Batangas.

Phoenix will build five storage tanks with a total capacity of 46 million liters. The company will import bio-diesel, gasoline, jet fuel and special fuel oil from foreign oil suppliers such as Formosa Petroleum Taiwan, Oronite Singapore, Petronas Malaysia and Singapore Petroleum Corp.

These petroleum products will be marketed and sold in bulk and wholesale basis through tankers and trucks to Phoenix’s retail stations in Luzon, and to firms and industrial users in Metro Manila and Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) provinces, BOI said.

Phoenix will hire 20 workers when commercial operations start next month. BOI said this project qualified for perks under the 2009 Investment Priorities Plan’s (IPP) Mandatory Inclusion of Republic Act (R.A.) 8479, or the Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act. The incentive-giving agency added that this is the company’s second BOI-registered project of the same nature, following one in Davao City.

BOI also granted incentives to Philippine Hydro Inc.’s P120-million investment to build and operate a water filtration and treatment facility in Norzagaray, Bulacan. Philippine Hydro has entered into a 25-year bulk water supply agreement with Norzagaray Water District (NORWD) in October, in which the said water district shall acquire and own the water rights/permit to the Norzagaray-Angat River as the sole point of source.

In turn, Philippine Hydro will install a 10-kilometer pipeline to supply clean potable water to NORWD’s about 38,000 customers in four barangays. The company will employ 19 people when commercial operations begin in January next year. This is the company’s second bulk water supply project registered with the incentive-giving agency.

Also, BOI approved the application of Philippine Auto Components Inc., a Japanese-Singaporean firm, which plans to put up a new line for instrument cluster pointer parts, worth P59.49 million, at its existing facility in Carmelray Industrial Park, Calamba City.

The company said the pointer parts would all be exported to China, Japan and Spain. These will be used in instrument clusters of Toyota’s Camry, Corolla, Vitz and Yaris models. Pointer parts measure a car’s speed, temperature, revolution per minute (RPM), among others.

The additional production line will churn out four million pieces a year, and entail hiring 17 additional people when operations commence in July next year. BOI said Philippine Auto Components is a wholly owned subsidiary of Denso International Singapore, which is in turn owned by Denso Corp. Japan—one of the world’s largest auto parts manufacturers and a leading supplier to Toyota.

Lastly, BOI also granted incentives and the other perks to the following mass housing investments: Federal Land Inc.’s P279-million vertical housing project called Marquinton Garden Terraces-Toledo Tower in Marikina City; Communities Isabela Inc.’s P232.396-million development dubbed Camella Isabela in Santiago City; Fifth Avenue Property Development Corp.’s P189-million vertical housing venture called Residencia Edades Condominium in Cebu City; Household Development Corp.’s P97-million low-cost venture dubbed Crestwood Subdivision in Antipolo City; and Shelter Systems Development Corp.’s P70.253-million venture called San Antonio Homes in Lipa City. These upcoming mass housing projects would result to 934 new jobs.
BEN ARNOLD O. DE VERA