By Ma. Elisa P. Osorio (The Philippine Star) Updated June 23, 2011 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - The Board of Investments (BOI) has approved the granting of tax perks to eight projects worth more than P7 billion, most of them involved in mass housing.
The eight projects will create more than 2,500 jobs, a BOI statement said.
For the first five months of the year, investments in low cost mass housing projects have grown such that it is now the second largest industry in terms of new investments. SM Development Corp. (SMDC) alone has invested P7.8 billion in mass housing from January to May this year.
Approved just recently are two SMDC projects, namely: Light Residences Tower Two and Green Residences. Also approved is a P158.8-million project of Philgold Metallic Ore Inc. This is only the second mining project that will enjoy an income tax holiday (ITH) granted by the BOI this year. The first was the project of Citi-nickel Mines and Development Corp.
Philgold is a new producer of gold concentrate with a yearly capacity of 360,000 metric tons (MT) or the equivalent to 2,343 ounces (oz.) of gold. The P158.8-million project is located in the province of Surigao del Sur, which is considered as one of the country’s 30 poorest provinces.
To date, the 60-percent Filipino and 40-percent British owned firm has explored 77 percent of the total contract area of 449.49 hectares. With a total resource estimate of 22,148,307 MT, mine life is expected to reach 62 years, far beyond the minimum 10-year requirement of the IPP specific guidelines. Some estimates say that the mine will last even longer as the remaining 23 percent of the area is still to be explored.
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