Investments in Normin soar by 80%, says local trade department

SM CDO Downtown Premier.

By MIKE BAÑOS, Contributing Editor

THE local Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) yesterday said that investments in Northern Mindanao (Region 10) for 2017 soared by 80 percent as compared to its data in 2016.

It said agri-based investments accounted for the majority of the P33.410.34-billion (B) total for the region with P14.648.12-B (44 percent) followed by Infrastructure and Services with P13.73-B (41 percent) and Energy with P2.187-billion (6.55 percent).
Misamis Oriental again led the investments parade in the region with P24.814-B, up 73 percent from P14.363-B in 2016.
The top five monitored investment projects in the region and the province alone comprised 53 percent of the region’s total, said the trade department, adding “these included the expansion of the San Miguel Beer distillery, construction of the Purefoods Hormel meat processing plant, Metro Pacific’s bulk water project, continued construction of the FDC Misamis coal fired power plant, and SM’s CDO Downtown Premier Mall.”
However, on the aggregate, it was agri-based investments which had the biggest share with P12.725-B (51.31 percent), followed by Infra and Services (P11.714-B) and Servicing with P229-B (one percent).
Four renewable energy (RE) projects in two municipalities in Bukidnon helped push up total investments in the province by 265 percent compared to its 2016 total and a 20 percent of the region’s total for the year, second only  to Misamis Oriental.
The four RE projects totaled P 2.18-B (33 percent of the province total) followed by the Agri-based Sector with P 1.883-B (28 percent) and Infra and Services Sector with P 1.255-B (18.78 percent).
Investments in Lanao del Norte declined 25 percent to P 894.2-million for 2017, compared to 2016, or 2.68 percent of the region’s total. The top ten projects monitored were all located in Iligan City including the expansion of a cement plant, a new mall, and commercial buildings.
DTI monitored investments in Misamis Occidental similarly declined by 22 percent from 2016 to P883.43-million, comprising 2.64 percent of total regional investments.
In contrast, the top five investments in the province totalling P12-million were dispersed to various locations including the municipalities of Calamba, Jimenez and Plaridel, and the cities of Oroquieta and Ozamiz, consisting mostly of the construction of commercial buildings.
Not the least, while the island province of Camiguin registered the smallest total investments at P137.3-million, it still registered a 72 percent increase from the 2016 total of P79.94-million for a 0.41 percent share to the total regional investments monitored.