MANILA, Philippines - Conglomerate JG Summit Holdings Inc. is spending P16 billion for the construction of new petrochemical plants in the country.
The Board of Investments has given the green light to the three new projects that will be undertaken by various subsidiaries of the Gokongwei-owned conglomerate.
Two pioneering projects of JG Summit Petrochemical Corp. got the nod under the preferred activities of the existing investment priorities plan with the endorsement of the Department of Science and Technology.
The first JGSPC project is a P4.2 billion plant for the production of butadiene and raffinate.
The other is a P3 billion project for the production of benzene, toluene, mixed xylene, C8+/C9+ Cut, and non-aromatics.
These projects are set to generate 112 jobs once fully operational in 2021.
The first project is expected to produce butadiene and raffinate at 70,000 metric tons (MT) and 89,000 MT annually, respectively, while the other is seen to yield benzene at 126,000 MT annually, toluene at 76,000 MT, mixed xylene at 46,000 MT, C8+/C9+ Cut at 18,000 MT, and non-aromatics at 29,000 MT.
Another wholly-owned subsidiary JG Summit Olefins Corp. (JGSOC) was also given the go-signal for the expansion of its naphtha cracker plant with a project cost of P8.6 billion.
The project is expected to enlist 21 personnel when the expanded operations start in July 2021.
“We very much welcome investment projects such as these. The company’s initiative and innovation in expanding their petrochemical plants is definitely a big boost to the manufacturing industry and its sub-sectors,” Trade Undersecretary and BOI managing head Ceferino Rodolfo said.
All the projects will be located in the JG Summit Petrochemical complex in Batangas City, where JGSPC currently operates two polyethylene and polypropylene plants with a combined capacity of 320,000 MT and 180,000 MT, respectively.
The complex also houses the country’s first and only naphtha cracker facility which is another BOI-registered project of JGSOC.
From the time the naphtha cracker started commercial operations in 2014, JGSOC has been able to provide JGSPC with a stable and competitive source of feedstock for its polymer plants.
The naphtha cracker expansion project of JGSOC will allow JGSPC to pursue construction of additional new or expanded downstream units to help further maximize the potential derivatives value from each of the newly-registered derivatives.
“As soon as these projects become fully operational, the firm will directly sell butadiene, benzene, and other petrochemical products to China, Korea and other Asian countries,” the BOI said.
JG Summit is one of the largest conglomerates in the country with interests in food manufacturing, airlines, petrochemicals, real estate, banking, and power.