Philippines' biofuels plan gets Ps1bn boost

09 November 2006 08:37  [Source: ICIS news]

By Jeanne Lim

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--The Philippines government is reviewing a 1bn Philippine peso (Ps) ($20m/€15.7m) fund to boost its biodiesel industry by promoting jatropha as feedstock, a senior government official said on Thursday.

Romulo Neri, director general at the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) told ICIS news that the country’s government corporate counsel office is looking at a draft administrative order for the plan before it is sent to President Macapagal Arroyo for approval.

State-owned Philippine National Oil Company Petrochemicals (PNOC) and the National Development Corp are to contribute Ps500m each to the biofuel project, he said.

The Ps500m sourced from NDC includes a processing plant to produce 1m litres of biofuel from jatropha.

PNOC and the country’s armed forces have already signed an agreement for the conversion of unproductive land in military reservations, totalling about 150 hectares, or 10,000 m2, into jatropha plantations, local media reported.

About Ps50m of the P500m budget from PNOC will used for further research on jathropha, the reports said.

The funds will be released to the Philippine Forest Corp (PhilForest), which is to manage the jatropha propagation, according to a statement on the government website.

By: Jeanne Lim
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