Thai firm investing P1.8B in Ilagan City

ILAGAN CITY, Isabela — More than a billion pesos worth of renewable energy, manufacturing, and cold chain industry projects have been lined up for Ilagan City.

The ultimate objective, according to city officials, is to align the government’s quest to transform Ilagan into a Liveable City by 2030.

In a press conference on Tuesday as part of the celebration of Mamanggi Festival 2024, Ilagan City Mayor Josemarie Diaz said Thai conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group Company Ltd. is pouring in more than P1.8 billion worth of investments for its huge animal feeds milling facility here.

“In two months, the construction of the animal feed mill will begin. The feed mill is incorporated in the 10 hectares of land they acquired. This will be the biggest feed mill in Northern Luzon as their Central Luzon operation is already saturated. Almost all our farmers will benefit from this project,” Diaz said.

Charoen Pokphand has started its swine breeding operation in Ilagan City.

Ilagan is known as the largest producer of yellow corn used for animal feed, earning it the moniker Corn Capital of the Philippines in 2015.

The average production of quality corn in Ilagan City is 200,000 metric tons per year coming from its 33,500 hectares of production areas.

On the other hand, the Bangkok-based Charoen Pokphand Group is Thailand’s largest private company, describing itself as having eight business lines covering 13 business groups.

As of 2020, the group had investments in 21 countries. It owns controlling stakes in Charoen Pokphand Foods, the world’s largest producer of animal feeds, and is a global top three producer of poultry and pork, among other agricultural products.

Its Philippine subsidiary, CPF Philippines, has for its core businesses livestock and aquaculture operations. Livestock operations include chicken broilers, chicken layers, ducks, and swine. In aquaculture, it raises shrimp and fish.

Solar farm

Aside from manufacturing, the City of Ilagan is preparing for the start of operations of a 440-megawatt (MW) solar farm that is expected to boost President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s renewable energy thrust. It is estimated by Diaz to provide 5,000 jobs for Ilagueños.

The construction of the solar farm is a deal between the San Ignacio Energy Resources Development Corp. and

French-owned Total Eren which signed a joint agreement in December 2022 to invest in the development of the Isabela solar project, with the latter providing financial and technical expertise.

SIERDC is part of the Nextnorth Energy Group, which is developing solar and hydro projects in Northern Luzon. The Department of Energy greenlit the construction of the solar farm project in December 2022.

And for cold storage, Diaz said Igloo Supply Chain Philippines Inc. has entered into an agreement with the Ilagan City government to invest in the construction of a cold chain facility.

“We sealed an agreement with them last 4 May and the construction will start as soon as possible. This is important so we can preserve the produce of our farmers and prevent spoilage,” he said.

Igloo is one of the top supply chain logistics service providers with state-of-the-art multi-temperature-controlled facilities in Southeast Asia.

As a local economic haven in the Cagayan Valley Region, the City of Ilagan is considered one of the most viable sites for industry development in the country.