ThinkGeoEnergy – Geothermal Energy News

Philippines plans industrial zone around geothermal plants at Leyte

An industrial zone is planned to be set up on Leyte that would utilise stable and large power supply by the geothermal power plants in the region in the Philippines.

The Philippine Board of Investments (BOI) signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) for the Development of the Master Plan and Feasibility Study for the Leyte Ecological Industrial Zone (LEIZ) with the Visayas State University (VSU) at the sidelines of the 2017 Investment Priorities Plan (IPP) Regional Roadshow of the agency in late August 2017 in Tacloban City, Leyte.

The proposed LEIZ is part of the strategies under the Copper Industry Roadmap (CIR). Developed by the various industry stakeholders themselves with the support of the BOI, the CIR aims to promote the integrated development and competitiveness of copper and other related industries in the Eastern Visayan region. The roadmap also augurs well with the ongoing rehabilitation efforts in the region after the devastation of Yolanda typhoon three years ago and the recent earthquakes.

“With the aid of experts from the academe and private sector, the BOI will develop the Master Plan for the LEIZ with the timeline to be finished by next year. The Feasibility Study will follow and it is scheduled for completion by 2019. Thereafter, both of these will be actively marketed by the BOI to local and foreign investors for the establishment of the zone,” said BOI Executive Director Raul Angeles who signed the MOC on behalf of the agency together with Dr. Jose Bacusmo, the representative of the VSU.

The proposed zone is to promote industry clustering to bring down logistics costs of business and providing steady power supply since Leyte hosts one of the biggest geothermal power plants in the country. Environmental concerns would also be a priority of the project and Angeles cited that the waste of one company could be put into good use like being used as raw materials of other locators. The project will provide not only services for waste management and recycling but also to ensure that the foundations of buildings and other infrastructures are strong enough to withstand natural disasters such as typhoons and earthquakes.

Source: Department of Trade & Industry, Philippines

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