The Philippine Economic Zone Authority reported its registered enterprises in the first quarter this year went up 32.06 percent to P80.62 billion as against P61.05 billion in the same period last year.
In a report to Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo, PEZA Director General Lilia B. de Lima said these investments represent the combined project cost of 364 projects approved by the PEZA Board from January to September this year, including 324 new and expansion projects and 41 IT enterprises.
De Lima said these projects are expected to generate 63,519 jobs once they come on stream, higher by 12.48 percent 56,489 jobs from projects registered in the same period last year.
The approved investments are expected to generate $ 5.64 billion annual export sales.
One of the big ticket projects approved by PEZA in its Board meeting last Sept. 22 is the $-120 million (P6 billion) 11,000-hectare greenfield bioethanol project of Green Future Innovations Inc. in San Mariano, Isabela.
In approving the project, PEZA said the GFI project will support the Biofuels program of the government.
GFI, a joint venture of Japan’s Itochu Corporation and JGC Corporation, the Philippine Bioethanol and Energy Investments Corporation, and Taiwanese holding company GCO, aims to contribute to the domestic supply of renewable energy through a 54-million liter of ethanol and 85,000 megawatts annually.
This will translate to $ 27.5 million savings in annual foreign exchange from fuel importation once project will displace be fully operational by 2012.
GFI will employ 1,500 workers in the two year construction sector and another 500 when the plant goes on commercial operation.
To be able to source 700,000 tons of sugarcane per year, GFI shall be signing growership contracts with about 4,000 farmer families thus having direct impact on the lives of about 20,000 Filipinos.
GFI estimates it will need to spend about Php1.6 billion per year for its feedstock, which shall have tremendous impact on the local economy of San Mariano.
It will also convert bagasse or sugarcane residual to electricity in its 19-megawatt power plant, projecting a 13-MW contribution to the Luzon grid in the future.
Demand for bioethanol is expected to grow over the years.
The Biofuels Act of 2006 passed into law on January 12, 2007, mandates that at least five percent of the total gasoline sold in the country be blended with five percent bioethanol by February 2009 and upon the recommendation of the National Biofuels Board and the Department of Energy, increases this mandated blend to 10 percent by 2011.
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