Lopez to invest in energy, shipbuilding in Iloilo, Negros

ILOILO CITY, Philippines -- The Lopez family, which runs one of the country’s biggest business groups, plans to invest in shipbuilding and energy generation projects in Iloilo province and the neighboring Negros Island, family patriarch Oscar Lopez said here.

The plan is to build cargo ships ranging from 100,000 to 200,000 gross tons, Lopez said on the sidelines of an investment forum held here.

This would be the first shipbuilding venture of the Lopez family, which has been in business for 81 years, said Ricardo Yatco, vice president for business development of the group’s First Philippine Holdings Corp.

Started in 1926 by Iloilo-born brothers Eugenio Sr. and Fernando Lopez, the group has interests in broadcasting, telecommunications, power generation and distribution, and property development.

Yatco, who was brought in by Lopez to scout for possible sites of the project in Iloilo, said the group preferred to have a foreign partner with experience in shipbuilding.

Lopez also announced the group’s intention to bid for control of the government’s Palinpinon geothermal power plant in Valencia town, Negros Oriental.

The Palinpinon plant, consisting of two power stations, supplies 60 megawatts of electricity to Panay Island, where Iloilo is situated.

Last month, a consortium led by the Lopez group won an auction for 60 percent of the geothermal power producer PNOC Energy Development Corp., submitting a bid of P58.5 billion.

Source:RamblerNews