Japan’s Taiheiyo Cement to build P15B new production plant in Cebu

Japan’s Taiheiyo Cement Corp. is planning to build a P15-billion new manufacturing plant in Cebu, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said Wednesday.

In a statement, the DTI said Taiheiyo Cement instructed its Philippine subsidiary, Taiheiyo Cement Philippines Inc. (TCPI), “to formally announce its decision to construct a new production line in Cebu on November 10.”

The project is valued at P15 billion, which includes a state-of-the-art facility employing novel and advanced technologies from developers in Europe and other leading global technology providers.

The project is also seen to increase TCPI’s cement capacity by 50% in the immediate term and by 150% in the medium term.

The enhanced capacity is projected to increase Taiheiyo’s current Philippine market share from 7% to 10%, according to the DTI.

For his part, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said the “new Taiheiyo Cement expansion project is a strategic investment not only in the context of the President’s Build, Build, Build' program, but also from the perspective of meeting the demand of our country's economic recovery. This is estimated by both the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to reach 6.2% to 6.8% in 2021.”

Likewise, Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo said that the DTI-Board of Investments (BOI) will review the project’s new technologies for incentive eligibility.

In 2019, the Philippines imported $543.9 million with cement importations increasing by an average of 213.8% from 2015.

This makes the country the third-largest cement importer in the world after the US and China.

The Taiheiyo Cement Group has a headquarters in Odaiba, Tokyo, Japan. It runs diverse businesses from cement, mineral resources, environmental, construction materials to real estate, engineering, data processing, finance, transportation, warehousing, chemicals, and sports.—AOL, GMA News