By Kris Crismundo | Philippine News Agency
Apart from the US$4 billion worth of investment deals presented to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. during a business forum in Berlin, the Chief Executive has received a separate investment commitment of US$1.03 billion (P56 billion) from a German renewable energy (RE) firm.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said in a statement Wednesday that Bremen-based wpd GmbH is investing in onshore wind and solar power farms in the Ilocos Region, and the provinces of Bulacan, Antique, Aklan, and Iloilo.
The DTI said these five RE projects have a combined capacity of 565 megawatts of clean energy.
These renewables projects are currently in the pre-development stage, and are expected to be completed between 2027 and 2030, it said.
In a Viber message to trade reporters, the DTI said wpd’s investment pledges are an outcome of its meeting with Marcos and DTI Secretary Alfredo Pascual in Berlin.
House of Representatives Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and Philippine Trade and Investment Center Berlin Special Trade Representative Nicanor Bautista were also present during the meeting with wpd executives.
Wpd was represented by its chief finance officer Björn Nullmeyer and general manager for Asia Hans-Christoph Brumberg.
During the meeting, Pascual cited the country’s One-Stop Action Center for Strategic Investments under his agency that endorses green lane treatment for big-ticket investments.
“The DTI will continue to assist wpd in navigating its way through the regulatory bureaucracy in the Philippines. Through the Board of Investments (BOI), one of our attached investment promotion agencies, we will work closely with your company to fast-track your application for green lane under Executive Order No. 18, which constitutes Green Lanes for Strategic Investments,” Pascual said.
Currently, wpd has P392.4 billion registered projects with the BOI for the establishment of offshore wind farms in Cavite, Negros Occidental, and Guimaras.
This is the single largest investment from Germany to date, the DTI said.
“These agreements [not] only signify the confidence that German businesses placed in the Philippines, but they also underscore the alignment of our economic priorities,” Pascual said.
