Cebu-based cement firm among big-ticket projects

CEBU, Philippines — The Board of Investment (BOI) has listed a Cebu-based cement company as one of the top five biggest investments registered in the Philippines in August.

The South Western Cement Corporation (SWCC) located in the southern town of Cebu in Malabuyoc, is a P13.5 billion cement plant.

BOI report indicated that the upcoming cement plant will have a capacity of producing two million metric tons of cement, with declared a project cost of P12.5 billion.

A wholly-owned subsidiary of listed-firm Eagle Cement Corp. SWCC was established primarily for the manufacture and sale of cement and its byproducts and owns mineral rights in Malabuyoc, Cebu.

The company targets to complete the project in the next two years. Once finished, it will augment the supply of cement in the Visayas and Mindanao markets.

BOI reported investment approvals of P325.8 a billion from January to August, a big jump from P235.4 billion it recorded in the same period last year.

An enormous growth of 300 percent generated by construction and public-private-partnership (PPP) projects which reached P127.7 billion from January to August.

Likewise, the real estate sector posted an encouraging and sustaining growth of 113 percent with P72.8 billion, in the first eight months of this year, from P34.1 billion last year.

Investments in manufacturing continued its upward trend with P36 billion in project approvals, up by 74 percent.

Agriculture related projects reached to P2.5 billion up by 47.4 percent.

BOI is confident of hitting its P500 billion investment approvals target for 2017 as investment projects registered rose by 38.4 percent in the first eight months of the year. (FREEMAN)