Metro Pacific Investments Corp. said Thursday wholly-owned unit Metro Pacific Agro Ventures Inc. teamed up with LR Group of Israel to build a new dairy manufacturing facility in Bay, Laguna.
MPIC said in a disclosure to the stock exchange the plant would have an annual production capacity of at least 6 million liters of milk.
The construction of the facility will start in 2023, and operations are expected to commence by late 2025 to early 2026.
MPIC said the transaction presents a significant growth opportunity for the group and the Philippines, as the country imports 99 percent of its annual dairy requirements.
“We share the same values with MPIC and MPAV in terms of maximizing what their country has to offer primarily in land, natural resources and skills, and in turn, helping their local communities thrive,” said LR Group co-founder and chief executive Ami Lustig.
Founded in 1985, the LR Group operates worldwide in financing, managing, developing, producing and maintaining medium and large-scale national projects in high-growth economies all over the world.
The partnership is the second agribusiness venture of MPIC.
MPIC early this year forayed into the dairy industry by teaming up with the Carmen’s Best Group to further develop and expand the operations of its dairy farm and manufacturing facilities.
“Our investment in agriculture is synonymous to food security and substantial independence but will ultimately become a means of alleviating hunger in our country—a pressing issue that we have taken as a challenge to address,” said MPIC chairman, president and chief executive Manuel Pangilinan.
“Our goal is and always will be to feed our people first,” said Pangilinan.
MPIC said it planned to ramp up investments in the agricultural sector to reduce the country’s dependence on food imports amid ongoing global supply chain disruption and high inflation.
MPIC is a leading conglomerate with investments in power, toll roads, water, transportation, healthcare and real estate.