By BERNIE CAHILES-MAGKILAT
March 17, 2011, 11:55pm
MANILA, Philippines – Canlaon Alco Green Agro Industrial Corp. is investing P5.192 billion for the establishment of a bioethanol plant and production of by products in Bago, Negros Occidental.
The project has been approved by the Board of Investments (BoI) with pioneer status entitling it to six-year income tax holiday because it is producing non-conventional product. It is among the big ticket items registered with the agency in the first two months this year.
The proposed facility has an annual capacity of 52.2 million liters of ethanol. It will employ 160 people when it starts commercial operation in December 2012.
The project has been certified by the Sugar Regulatory Authority that its 2,302 hectare sugar plantation in Bago, Negros Occidental as production areas for feedstock for bio-ethanol while the purified carbon dioxide by-product would be supplied to beverage firms for the production of food grade products.
The project is owned by several businessmen with Jose de Jesus as majority owner.
In granting pioneer ITH for this domestic-oriented project, the BoI said the country has a huge requirement of ethanol because the BioFuels Act of 2006 has required a 10 percent blend to gasoline starting 2011. It will require 500 million liters of ethanol, 7,143 million tons sugar cane and 120,000 hectares planted to sugar cane.
Projected total demand for ethanol by 2012 is expected to hit 849 million liters as against projected domestic production of only 193 million liters or a deficit in local supply of 656 million liters.
This means, the government will continue to encourage more production of ethanol projects because to bridge the huge supply deficit, which is being augmented through imports.
Source: Manila Bulletin
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