COTABATO CITY—A P7-billion giant Cavendish banana plantation project of Al-Sahar Agri Ventures Inc. recently started operating in four municipalities of Maguindanao, lawyer Ishak Mastura, chairman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao’s Regional Board of Investments, said.
Mastura said Al-Sahar’s banana plantation project, so far the biggest private investment in the 22-year-old region, covers a total land area of close to 3,000 hectares in Talayan, Buldon, Mangudadatu, and Barira towns.
Al-Sahar is an affiliate of the Unifrutti Group which also manages other ARMM companies, such as La Frutera Inc., Wao Development Corp. and Mount Kalatungan Agri Ventures Inc. Mastura said the new company initially created 3,900 jobs for local residents.
Ed Bullecer, Al-Sahar director, stressed that his firm is in the ARMM, considered the country’s most depressed, disadvantaged and underserved area, “to help uplift the lives of local inhabitants and help propel its socio-economic growth and development.”
The Al-Sahar executive considered Muslim Mindanao “as the best agri-related investment destination in the country due to its fertile and vast lands, low cost of doing business and strong support from local leaders despite security issues.”
Bullecer noted that before the coming of Al-Sahar, regional investments amounted to only P1.8 billion, but this year’s investment figure is expected to further increase “since more private ventures are in the pipeline.”
The ARMM Bureau of Public Information reported that current projects in the region include a P1.3-billion oil plantation, a P400-million napier grass biomass fuel production project and a P200-million modernization and expansion of a cassava starch factory.
The region’s information bureau noted that since ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman officially assumed office in 2013, he has always promoted a business climate conducive to investments by introducing reforms leading to good governance.
According to Mastura, “RBOI has always been assisting investors by familiarizing them with the business environment” and providing fiscal and non-fiscal incentives and bureaucratic assistance.