Marcos: Thousands of jobs expected from Batangas' expanded petrochem industry

BATANGAS CITY — President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. on Friday said thousands of jobs could be generated from the expanded petrochemical industry in this city.

Marcos led the inauguration of the JG Summit Olefins expanded manufacturing facility here, which houses the first and only naphtha cracker plant in the country.

“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 P215 billion next year,” Marcos said in his speech.

Marcos explained that what the facility produces ''ends up in the packaging of the food we eat, in the clothes we wear, in the appliances in our homes, in the cars we drive, and in the electronic gadgets that we use to chronicle our daily lives.''

''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,'' Marcos said.

The JG Summit Olefins Corporation complex, which initially started with polyethylene and polypropylene polymers manufacturing in 1998, has continuously expanded its facilities over the years.

The facility produces the olefin raw materials ethylene and propylene used as feedstock by its downstream polyethylene and polypropylene polymer plants.

According to JG Summit Holdings, Inc. President Lance Gokongwei said the manufacturing complex, which was built at a cost of over P150 billion, represents one of the largest investments in a single business.

''This sizeable investment is borne out of our firm belief that having a strong local petrochemical manufacturing base will support the revitalization of Philippine industry and help the country move up the global value chain,'' Gokongwei said in a press statement. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News