UPPC’s P8.5-B paper machine project gets perks

The Board of Investments (BOI) has approved a P8.5-billion paper machine line project that would help consumers depend less on imported paper.

In a statement, the BOI said it had awarded a certificate of registration to United Pulp and Paper Co. Inc. (UPPC) for its pioneering paper machine line project.

The project will produce up to 220,000 tons a year of corrugated medium paper in its plant in Calumpit, Bulacan. Commercial operations were expected to begin in November 2020.

“It will serve both domestic and export markets and boost the local paper industry by reducing the need for customers to rely on imported paper,” it added.

The project will be employing several state-of-the-art technologies in its facility, the BOI said.

Moreover, the BOI said the facility’s power boiler was designed to tap a nonconventional source of energy such as biogas by using an anaerobic system with less power requirement and less sludge.

The project is one of the investment pledges approved by the BOI in the first quarter, which helped bring investment commitments to P243 billion, up 60 percent from a year ago.

BOI pledges refer to project commitments in business activities that the BOI tagged as strategic in advancing inclusive growth.