Pacific Bio-Fields Holdings PLC of Japan has committed to a joint venture with local company, Bio-Energy NL Inc. (BENLINC), for a P3.5 Billion biodiesel processing plant that will churn out 24,000 tons of coconut methyl esthers (CME) a year.
Construction of the biodiesel processing plant is said to start by August and will be finished by December of this year. Both companies have already started planting coconut trees for the project in an 1,500-hectare forest located at Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte.
Aside from that, they are also looking at using idle public lands in the two Ilocos provinces to plant more coconut trees in to feed their processing plant. While their plantation is still not producing they are looking at sourcing their feedstock from other coconut rich areas in Luzon.
The produced CME will then be exported to Japan. Which raises the question as to whether they will sell this locally? Since it would be to the interest of the Filipino people to benefit from their own natural resources to that they will not fall prey to the high price of diesel at the pumps, not to mention the Philippines own implementation of the Biofuel Law.
[source]
Category: Biodiesel, Financing
