Dubai firm to double PH stake to $10B

PHOTO FROM KAMPACGROUP.COM

MANILA, Philippines–Kampac Oil plans to double its investments in the Philippines to over $10 billion, the bulk of which will fund the construction of Kampac Energy City in Sual, Pangasinan, which is touted to be the first of its kind in Asia.

“The initial cost of the project was estimated at $5 billion. But with current expansion plans, the city is estimated to cost well over $10 billion. Upon completion, the Kampac Energy city will be one of the largest energy projects of its kind,” the company said in a statement.

Kampac Oil, an international oil and gas company based in Dubai, said it had long been interested in investing in the Philippines. But it was only in 2013 that the group had announced plans to put up an energy complex.

“We chose the Philippines because of its strategic location and, most importantly, we believe and love the Filipino people and their big smile,” Kampac Group chair Charles Ampofo was quoted in the statement as saying.

The proposed Kampac Energy City will be composed of a non-commercial port, a township and a functioning city. As announced previously, the energy city alone will house three refineries, a petrochemical plant, a liquefied natural gas regasification facility and a water company. The project is also expected to generate at least 8,000 jobs.

According to the company, the three integrated developments may take up to 15 years to complete, with the first phase expected to be ready as early as 2018.

Following the completion of all the studies for the first phase of the project, groundbreaking for the Kampac Energy City may take place before the end of the second quarter. The company also started compiling a short list of contractors eight weeks ago.

There are 24 contractor companies on the short list for the project, 12 of which are foreign firms based in Australia, the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Spain, China, Japan, South Korea and Ghana. Two local firms are also on the short list of interested parties.