ARMM Investors not waiting for BBL as investments continue upward trend

DAVAO CITY , July 21, 2015. – The Regional Board of Investments (RBOI) in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) approved a P252 million petroleum investment project located in Polloc Free Port, Parang, Maguindanao. This was after the RBOI -Board of Governors  in a joint meeting with the members of the Management Committee in Davao City approved yesterday the registration of DS3 Fuel Tanking and Services Inc., the fourth project registered by the agency in 2015.  With this  new addition, ARMM has recorded Php1.8 billion total investments in the 3^rd quarter of this year and continuously going up despite the uncertainty of the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

The DS3 Fuel Tanking and Services Inc. is engage into providing storage facilities, marketing and distribution of petroleum products. The company will mainly be involved in the construction and operation of oil depots with total capacity of 23 million litres per annum at Polloc Free Port, Parang, Maguindanao. Significantly, this is the first foreign investor to invest in the downstream oil industry in the region highlighting business confidence of foreign investors in the region even as the BBL is still being debated in Congress.”

RBOI Chair, Atty. Ishak V. Mastura said that such project  in the “downstream oil distribution industry”  is the most strategic investment because DS3 can provide the common service facilities for the different oil distribution industry players now and for the future in the region. The presence of an oil depot and oil storage facilities can possibly reduce the price of oil in the region, Atty. Mastura added.”

According to DS3, about 50 million litres of ground fuel is being consumed   by the region per month. The company invested in the region since they see the ARMM and its adjacent municipalities and cities of 10 million people as a huge market opportunity to construct a fuel storage and distribution facility to service various customers in the region including service stations, agriculture and industrial users.

Further, there are other investments in the pipeline this year. One of these is a Php 3.7 billion cavendish  banana project intended for export market. Another is  a 5,000 hectare oil palm plantation in Maguindanao  with  project amounting to P1.3 billion  and a napier biomass fuel production  which is estimated to cost P400 million.

Other firms with investment projects that were previously approved by RBOI this year are  Chan C. Mining Inc. spending Php741.8 million for its nickel ore mining and quarrying project in Tawi-Tawi; Lamsan Power Corporation which expanded their existing power plant to an additional 5.5 megawatts capacity worth Php686.7 million in Maguindanao and;  Tawi-Tawian Petroleum Trading in Tawi-Tawi, a company into importation and distribution of petroleum products which invested Php 121.2 million. (SOURCE: RBOI)