South Korean firm investing P5-Billion for e-vehicle plant in PH

PEZA director general Charito Plaza (left) and ENPlus chief executive officer and chair Young Yong Ahn (right) (Photo courtesy of PEZA)

MANILA – South Korean firm ENPlus Co. Ltd. is investing PHP5 billion in the Philippines to put up its electric vehicle manufacturing facility, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) reported Friday.

PEZA director general Charito Plaza said ENPlus will be the first e-vehicle manufacturer in the PEZA ecozone.

ENPlus’ e-vehicle factory here will be located in Negros Occidental, Plaza added.

Its operation will involve the manufacturing of electric cars and electric jeepneys.

Plaza and ENPlus chief executive officer and chair Young Yong Ahn signed a memorandum of understanding on Wednesday for the joint venture between PEZA and the Korean firm.

“ENPlus, a Korean company, is (now) our partner in investing in the countryside and believing in the Philippines as an investment haven in Asia. We appreciate ENPlus in their commitment and alliance with us towards making the Philippines a clean, sustainable, and environment-friendly country,” she said.

While the Korean firm is investing PHP5 billion for the factory, PEZA will be providing a 30-hectare land “to link prospect industries to ENPlus for joint investment ventures and other related agreements for eligible projects of PEZA”.

ENPlus is a manufacturer of fire trucks and firefighting equipment and is now expanding to e-vehicles.

“We’d like to make a better world and provide more fire trucks and electric vehicles to the Philippines. With this, we would like to expand our business in your country to manufacture environment and energy-friendly vehicles starting with your jeepneys since they are the most popular mode of transportation in your country,” Young said. (PNA)