Mass housing tops BOI 1st half list of Cebu projects

MASS housing projects make up the bulk of the P2.5 billion investment pledges in Cebu in the first half of the year.

According to the Board of Investments Cebu, this is a 91 percent drop as compared to the investment pledges registered in the BOI Cebu in the same period last year.

Last year’s pledges, however were bolstered by a GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corporation-initiated project, which amounted to P16.75 billion.

Roy Soledad, head of the Cebu Investment Promotions Office (CIPO), said in an interview that he understood that last year would be an exemption because of this undertaking, adding that the pledges registered with the agency would normally increase with big-ticket projects.

The BOI-Cebu works in partnership with CIPO with regards to investments in Cebu.

First quarter projects amounted to P720 million, which include mass housing projects from 77 Living Spaces, Inc. and Kenrich Development Corporation in Talisay City and Liloan, respectively, as well as three solar energy projects by Solar Pacific Citysun Corporation in Cebu City and Consolacion.

For the second quarter of this year, the pledges amounted to P1.43 billion, comprising a tourist accommodation facility in Siquijor, a horizontal mass housing project by Communities Cebu, Inc. in Cebu City, vertical mass housing projects by Contempo Property Holdings in Mandaue City, a mass housing project by Johndorf Ventures Corp., and an investment on furniture manufacturing by Maison Galuchat, Inc.

These projects generated a total of 1,418 jobs, which was more than the employment generated during the period covered last year at only 736.

Most of the undertakings registered with the BoI in Cebu and the rest of the Visayas are mass housing projects, he said.

“But personally, I agree that we can do more to improve it,” he said.

With this development, Soledad is encouraging local government units in Cebu to aggressively market their localities to attract more investors.

“We cannot just wait for investors to come to our offices and say they want to invest here. We need to proactively seek out companies, do outreaches, and promote whatever areas we have for investment to them,” Soledad said.