Benlinc groundbreaking

Japanese group starts work on $600-M coco proj in N. Luzon

By TEDDY MOLINA
The Philippine Star

PAGUDPUD, Ilocos Norte — A group of Japanese businessmen who had forged a partnership with a Filipino corporation began last week the first phase of $600-million coconut plantation project in Northern Luzon.

Ground-breaking and initial planting activities for the project that will eventually cover 600,000 hectares of public non-disposable land in the northern provinces were held on Dec. 16 in Barangay Caunayan, Pagudpud Ilocos Norte, some 82 kilometers northeast of Laoag City.

Four Japanese investors headed by Moriaki Hayashida, president of Pacific Bio-Fields Corp. (PBFC) and Bio-Energy Northern Luzon Inc. (BENLINC) executives led by its president former Ilocos Sur Rep. Salacnib Baterina presided over the groundbreaking and planting activities.

Top local officials led by Rep. Roque Ablan Jr., regional manager Dennis Calub of the Philippine Coconut Authority, and mayors led by Marlon Sales of Pagudpud also participated in the event.

Hayashida said their plan is to process coconut into CME or coconut methyl ester, an essential component for the production of bio-diesel.

A CME plant will be put up in Currimao, Ilocos Norte that will process the coconut production in Northern Luzon. He said they are eyeing a 20-hectare land for the plant.
The plant’s output will be shipped to Japan which Hayashida said would not even be enough to fill Japan’s huge bio-fuel requirement.

Hayashida’s group included Konji Kondo PBFC director, Yuji Taniguchi PBFC director, and Nobuhito Okuda, president director, NETsystem Ltd.

Baterina said the project would establish the "biggest coconut plantation in the country." He underscored the benefits local folks will get from the project in terms of employment generation and environment conservation.

Ablan thanked the investors for choosing North Luzon as plantation site as he assured their safety and that of the project.

"The impact of this endeavor to the North and its communities is tremendous. It means massive reforestation," Ablan said.

The PBFC and BENLINC venture initially covers Ilocos Norte, Cagayan, and Ilocos Sur.
Calub saidthe coconut seedlings utilized are of the "Simba" variety.

The first phase of the project involves thousands of hectares from Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte to Allacapan, Cagayan.

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