COTABATO CITY — The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has accepted PhP3.2-billion worth of investments in 2017, some 53 percent higher as compared to last year’s PhP2.11-B, the Regional Board of Investments (RBOI) reported.
The region’s top investor this year is the TierOne Communications International, Inc. (Tier1) that pitched in Php3-B worth of investments in telecommunications that included cellular services, broadband connectivity, wireless internet, and public WiFi.
Tier1 first targeted Marawi City as a pilot area for their project but when the Marawi siege occurred, the firm shifted their sight to the ARMM compound here as their new pilot area.
Trailing Tier1 is the Bangsamoro Terminal Services, Inc. (BTSI) that invested on a PhP129 million port related services project in Polloc Port, Parang, Maguindanao.
The BTSI undertaking is seen to provide logistics support to thriving businesses in municipalities of Maguindanao and neighboring Cotabato City.
Other big ARMM investments this year are the water treatment plant and bulk water supply project (PhP40 million) of Mactan Rock TGV Builders Corporation in Maguindanao; general cargo vessel with a capacity of 494 metric tons (MT) providing shipping services to traders in Tawi-Tawi (PhP 33.5 million) of J. Sayang Shipping Lines, Inc.; and aquamarine cold storage and fish processing facility (PhP32 million) of Abing Seafood Cold Storage, also in Tawi-Tawi.
Lawyer Ishak Mastura, RBOI chair and managing head, said a total of 1,877 jobs are expected to be created from the projects registered in 2017.
He added that agriculture-based projects are still the most in demand among investors in the region based on the investment proposals they received for 2018.
“We also foresee projects related to infrastructures, energy, as well as, banking and finance linked to rebuilding war-ravaged Marawi City,” Mastura stressed.
He noted that the regional investment thrust is aligned to the ARMM Investment Priorities Plan (IPP) for 2017-2019 that was approved by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte. (Noel Punzalan/PNA)
