First Balfour is looking at putting up an electric vehicle (EV) system in sister company’s First Philippine Industrial Park (FPIP) in Batangas that will include a charging infrastructure powered by renewable energy.
A joint venture between the Filipino conglomerate First Philippine Holdings (FPH) and Japanese conglomerate Sumitomo Corp., FPIP is one of the largest industrial parks in the Philippines, hosting more than 140 locators.
FPH is First Balfour’s mother company as well.
“Aligning with our mission towards decarbonization, we are actively exploring opportunities in the electric vehicle space to be able to provide an integrated infrastructure and services to our customers, such as FPIP. In this context, IFC’s expertise will help us develop highly relevant market solutions that will ultimately help us to contribute to our country’s resilient future,” said Anthony Fernandez, First Balfour president.
First Balfour is assisted by the International Finance Corp. (IFC) in conducting the assessments and viability studies for the infrastructure that is aimed at ramping up efforts to decarbonize the transport sector
“FPIP has been looking at ways to create a stronger, more efficient transportation system within and outside the industrial park, in a manner that is inclusive and beneficial to locators, current transport service providers, and the nearby communities. By participating in the assessments and viability studies, it can also obtain deeper insights on movements inside the park to develop appropriate transport strategies and other approaches to achieve net zero carbon emissions in the future,” the IFC said.
IFC noted that while a growing number of businesses are looking to explore EV adoption to help green their operations in the Philippines, technical expertise is “thin” and successful business cases are few, especially those of significant scale.
“A huge investment opportunity over the next decade, electric vehicles are critical in the fight against climate change and can help reduce emissions, lower transport costs, and create thousands of green jobs. So, developing an efficient and thriving e-mobility ecosystem is crucial for the Philippines to meet its climate commitments,” said Jean-Marc Arbogast, IFC Philippines country manager.
“The project will also help diversify FPIP and First Balfour’s infrastructure services and hopefully bring in new market players and spur the evolution of the local electric vehicle segment in the country,” he added. – Ruelle Castro
