Three Chinese state-owned companies have agreed to develop a 102-hectare property into an Energy complex in the coastal village of Simlong in Batangas City, Philippines.
Simlong Energy Development Corp, which is named after the coastal village, signed the MOUs with China Gezhouba Group Co. Ltd. (CGGC), China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering Co. Ltd. (CPP) and the China Harbour Engineering Corp. (CHEC).
Land preparation will begin in June 2019, paving the way for a project in three phases, which is expected to be completed before President Duterte’s term ends in 2022. CGGC, the same company tapped for the development of New Clark City in Tarlac, will undertake the land development and the construction of the power plants. The first phase of the project is for the construction of a refinery for naphtha, a lightweight petrochemical commonly used as solvent in making cleaning fluids and varnish. The bulk of the naphtha production will then be exported to China, Japan and Korea.
CPP will build the refinery and storage tanks, while CHEC will be responsible for the construction of the port facilities, and oil and gas terminals.
The second phase involves the construction of an Energy port for oil, natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG), and the final phase is the construction of a 1,560-megawatt power plant to energize the complex and supplement the national grid.
According to the Department of Energy, the memorandums of understanding (MOUs) for the USD 3 billion investment in Batangas province were signed during President Duterte’s visit to Beijing in May 2019 wherein the Philippines bagged USD 12 billion worth of trade deals, and industrial and Infrastructure projects.
(Sources: Department of Energy; The Philippine Daily Inquirer)
