PBBM: Expanded petrochem complex to generate P215-B in 2025

MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Friday lauded the expansion of the petrochemicals manufacturing complex of JG Summit Olegins Corp. (JGSOC) in Batangas City, saying it would generate about PHP215 billion and 6,200 jobs in 2025.

In his speech during the inauguration of the JGSOC’s expanded manufacturing complex, Marcos said the facility is more than just about cuttingedge technology but is also proof of Filipino skills, business confidence, and manufacturing resurgence.

“It is an upstream industry that feeds many enterprises and supplies many other manufacturing concerns. It is among the lynchpins of our industrialization, a vital link in moving up the value chain, and guarantees the supply of a critical production ingredient,” he said.

“It is directly and indirectly employing 6,200 individuals. You are a major contributor to an industry that is forecasted to enrich our economy by PHP215 billion next year.”

Marcos assured that his economic team would continue to create a climate that propels economic growth, boosts incentives, promotes ease of doing business, and funds high-impact infrastructure p r o j ect s.

“The bottom line of their assigned mission is this: To reduce red tape that chokes industry and innovation and replace it with a red carpet that ushers in capital, foreign and domestic, and provides the path towards progress,” he said.

“This is the government's mandatory equity to provide participation in national growth. It is my firm belief that the government should not be a yoke on the back of business like taxing them heavily and tightly regulating their growth making the ease of doing business a sticking point for possible investors.”

He expressed confidence that the manufacturing complex would open more jobs to Filipinos, entice more investors to explore opportunities in the country, and boost the Philippine economy and com pet i t i veness.

The President toured the 160-hectare facility, accompanied by JG Summit Holdings, Inc. (JGSHI) chairperson James Go, JGSHI president and chief executive officer (CEO) Lance Gokongwei, and JGSOC president and CEO Arnel Santos.

The JGSOC complex, which initially started with polyethylene and polypropylene polymers manufacturing in 1998, has been expanded over the years.

The JGSOC operates the only facility in the Philippines that processes naphtha into ethylene and propylene, key ingredients for the production of common plastics.

This benefits local plastic businesses by providing a steady supply of these materials, as well as by reducing costs, enabling increased production, and enhancing competitiveness.

The plant also produces other chemicals used in paints, plastics, rubber, and other products.

In 2023, JGSOC commenced commercial operations of the final leg of its USD1.3-billion expansion project, which boosted the overall site capacity to more than one million metric tons of petrochemical products annually.

JGSOC markets its petrochemical products to more than 30 countries worldwide. (PNA)