Saudi oil refinery to rise in Bataan

ORION, Bataan — President Arroyo yesterday announced that Saudi Arabia is interested in putting up another oil refinery in Bataan and not in Mindanao as earlier planned.

The President told local residents and provincial officials led by Bataan Gov. Enrique Garcia, Rep. Albert Garcia and Orion Mayor Antonio Raymundo that Mindanao will instead be the site of ethanol distillery plants, which are labor-intensive.Bataan is likely the best site for the upcoming huge Saudi Arabian investment.

As it is now, Bataan is already the center of government reform energy efforts as the country’s largest oil refinery is located in the province.

Less than two months after leading thousands of surviving veterans of World War II commemorate the 64th anniversary of the Araw ng Kagitingan atop the historic Mt. Samat in Pilar town last April 9, Mrs. Arroyo arrived here yesterday on board a Sun Cruise ferry boat at around 10:30 a.m. to grace the groundbreaking ceremonies for the construction of a world-class ferry passenger port — the President Diosdado Macapagal Cruise Terminal.

The P 33.5-million two-storyy edifice is expected to boost business and tourism not only in Bataan but in other Central and Northern Luzon areas, which is in line with the President’s program of modernizing the nation’s nautical highways to spur growth in the countryside, facilitate transport of goods and services and create more employment opportunities.

Garcia told The STAR that the President Diosdado Macapagal Cruise Terminal was designed by world-renowned urban planner and architect Felino Palafox Jr. to be the most beautiful and modern port terminal in the country.

The terminal will have an aerodynamic curved structure and a fixed glass will surround the building to allow visitors and travelers to enjoy the panoramic views of the Bataan peninsula and scenic Manila Bay, Garcia said.

The proposed terminal which has a floor area of 1,250 square meters will have two VIP lounges and waiting area that can accommodate some 200 passengers. It will also house an information and tourism center, the offices of the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) and the maritime police, and four food courts.

The ongoing construction of a P5-billion Iranian petrochemical midstream plant and the reported interest of the Arabian-American Company (ARAMCO) in putting up a $ 300-million naptha cracker plant are two factors considered in the building of a new port terminal in the province, Garcia added.

Orion port, which is approximately 30 nautical miles from the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) could be reached by ferry boats from Manila in 45 minutes. From here, it is only a 10-minute drive to the petrochemical zone in the coastal village of Batangas Dos, Mariveles, Bataan, where the oil refinery is proposed to be built. — With Aurea Calica