COTABATO CITY – The Regional Board of Investments in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (RBOI-ARMM) registered P600 million worth of investments at the start of this year’s fourth quarter creating at least 250 jobs for the region.
These investments were from the Maguindanao Energy Farms Inc. (MEFI) based in Simuay, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao and Matling Industrial and Commercial Corp. (MICC) operating in Matling, Malabang, Lanao del Sur.
MEFI invested P400 million for a 474-hectare napier grass plantation. The plantation with production capacity of 256,133 metric tons per annum will be used to supply the fuel needs of Lamsan Power Plant, which is also located in Simuay. Napier is a highly valued industrial crop, a good source of biomass energy, which will naturally regenerate after a reasonable length of time.
Lawyer Ishak V. Mastura, RBOI-ARMM chairperson said the addition of MEFI on the list of existing renewable energy projects registered with this office signifies a growing number of investors in alternative sources of energy such as biomass.
“Such projects are included in the 2014-2016 ARMM Investments Priorities Plan that promotes and supports economic activities for sustainable and clean sources of energy and to secure power supply for the future. About 23% of total investments from 2012 to the present in ARMM are into renewable energy,” Mastura said.
MICC, on the other hand, invested P194 million for an expansion and modernization project by setting up a new cassava starch-milling plant. The new plant is expected to yield approximately 13,216 metric tons, or 260,000 bags annually. MICC is one of the pioneering and most enduring cassava starch companies in the country, which was established in September 1928.
As of the third quarter of 2015, RBOI-ARMM registered a total of P6 billion investments, the biggest in the history of ARMM. Regional Governor Mujiv Hataman said “investments will continue to come in the region as long as there is sustained peace and stability.” (Bureau of Public Information)
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