Japan's Itochu, JGC Corp to advance Philippines ethanol project

(ADPnews) - Nov 22, 2010 - Japanese diversified trading company Itochu Corp (TYO:8001) today said its joint venture with engineering group JGC Corp (TYO:1963) will proceed with the planned USD-120-million (EUR 87.3m) ethanol plant project in the Philippines.

Kenichi Hisatomi, general manager of Itochu's Manila office, told reporters that the JV, Green Future Innovations Inc, is awaiting the Philippine Economic Zone Authority to declare the site of the plant in the Isabela province an economic zone.

According to Hisatomi, the plant's construction will start as soon as the joint venture gets the accreditation, which is expected soon. The completion is slated for 2012.

At the plant, Green Future plans to produce 50 million litres (13.2 million gallons) of ethanol a year from 11,000 hectares (27,000 acres) of sugarcane, as well as 19 MW of electricity, with 13 MW available to the Luzon grid.

Hisatomi also said that Green Future has secured an USD 80 million loan for the project from Philippines-based Banco de Oro UniBank Inc (PSE:BDO).

He added that the company is also anticipating the Energy Department's guidelines for ethanol imports to protect domestic ethanol producers.

The Ethanol Producers Association of the Philippines has requested a 20% tariff on imported ethanol.

The Japanese partners announced their joint project in April, saying that they had started preparations for their joint business in the Philippines a few years ago.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.727)

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