Gov says Bohol ready for infotech investors

BOHOL is ready for investors in the information communication technology and outsourcing industry.

Bohol Gov. Edgar M. Chatto said that Bohol now has the manpower and the connectivity to host these kinds of investors.

Chatto also said that it took them at least two years to set things up for the investors here.

“We have been preparing for this industry. Two years ago we held a summit on ICT and BPO here and found out that Bohol lacks two important things to be able to attract investments: manpower and connectivity,” said Chatto.

The connectivity issue has been addressed with the the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) fiber optic network project in Bohol.

“We have been preparing the manpower. We gathered the universities and colleges here and told them about the need for graduates who will soon work in IT and outsourcing companies,” he said about addressing the manpower needs of the industry.

Bohol has three universities, several colleges and a Tesda or Technical Education and Skills Development Authority office which also conducts training for IT-related skills.

They also have set up the Bohol ICT Council and the Bohol Investments and Promotions Center (BIPC) two years ago to better prepare for the industry.

BIPC

“Under BIPC, we created an investments board to focus on the incentives. The board has already laid out packages for the investors here based on what the local government can offer like tax holidays. That’s on top of what the national government extends,” said Chatto.

The P700 million PLDT project, on the other hand, will increase Bohol’s Internet speed from 155 Mbps to 40 Gbps.

Chatto said with this, Bohol is now ready.

He also said that they have been getting visits from investors from other parts of the country and abroad like India.

“They have checked out places and buildings where they can possibly set up centers. Also they have done interviews with some of our students and told me that they actually got good results,” he said.

Economic Zone

The old airport in Tagbilaran is being considered as a possible site to build an economic zone where these kind of investors can set up their BPO firms.

He said once the new international airport in Panglao operates, they can convert the 50-hectare airport lot into an IT park.

“We also have existing buildings in the city that can already cater to the requirements of the outsourcing companies.”

At present, Chatto said they have a very minimal number of seats under the ICT/BPM industry which are owned by families.

But Chatto expects investments to come in with the PLDT project.