Nearly two years since President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. issued Executive Order 18 establishing Green Lanes for Strategic Investments, the Board of Investments (BOI) One-Stop Action Center for Strategic Investments (OSAC-SI) has endorsed PHP4.51 trillion worth of projects for faster processing of permits and licenses in national government agencies (NGAs) and local government units (LGUs).

BOI Director Ernesto Delos Reyes said in a press briefing on Dec. 20 that as of the said date, 173 projects were awarded with green lane certification.

Bulk of the certified projects are in the renewable energy (RE) with 139 projects amounting to PHP4.11 trillion.

“We are currently discussing with the Department of Energy in facilitating RE investments, aligning it with their Energy Projects of National Significance,” he said in Filipino.

Delos Reyes said there were 22 food security projects with investments of PHP13.95 billion awarded with green lane endorsement, adding that this aligns with the Marcos administration’s food security goals.

Digital infrastructure sector had eight projects under green lane, amounting to PHP352.13 billion, while manufacturing has four projects with investments of PHP36.91 billion.

Moreover, Delos Reyes said PHP1.65 trillion or 36 percent of the investments certified as green lane came from foreign sources.

Top foreign investments with green lane certification include Singapore, Thailand, and British Virgin Islands, the BOI official said. (PNA)