A Chinese firm is setting up a plant in Bacolod City for the manufacture of electric vehicles, Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said Monday, January 9.
The Bacolod mayor, who joined President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on his state visit to China last week, said he spoke with the chief executive officer and chairman of the Jiangsu Fengchuen New Energy Power Technology Co.
The firm, in collaboration with Korean partners, will build public utility vehicles powered by electricity, he said.
In fact representatives of the firm have already visited Bacolod, Benitez said.
He expects them to return to Bacolod soon, he added.
Benitez said the visit to China was an eye opener because a lot of big firms with international operations are looking to invest in the Philippines and the city.
It’s just a matter of matching their needs with what we have in Bacolod, he said.
There are also firms interested in investing in the Guimaras-Negros bridge, and other infrastructure projects in Bacolod and Negros Occidental, Benitez said.
There is a huge Chinese market for Philippine products, he added.
The Philippine government signed an agreement for tourism collaboration with China during the president’s state visit, Benitez also said.
Benitez said he has asked that Bacolod be included among the destinations of the Chinese tourists.
He is set to meet Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco to lay down the plans for the promotion of Bacolod’s food tourism, Benitez said.
Benitez said he wants investments that will create jobs and enable the money to stay in Bacolod
Other possible Chinese investments explored were railways and wind and solar power, he said.*