The Board of Investments (BOI) has identified three foreign-owned sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) early movers with a combined investment value of USD508 million, as the government ramps up efforts to develop the country’s newest priority sector on hopes to get the Philippines’ first SAF plant up and running by 2028 or 2029.
The three early SAF proponents are SAFAsia Inc., ALCOM, and Cavitoil.
SAFAsia, a German-owned venture, has proposed a USD216-million project in Clark that will produce 20,000 tons of SAF using chicken manure as feedstock. The company is currently seeking a local partner for the project.
ALCOM, a Singaporean firm, has proposed a USD40-million SAF facility in Isabela that will use corn waste as feedstock and produce 100,000 tons of SAF annually.
Meanwhile, Italian-owned Cavitoil is proposing a USD40-million project in Cebu with an annual production capacity of 9,000 tons of SAF.
BOI Managing Head Ceferino S. Rodolfo said a Philippine delegation led by Director Francis Peñaflor of the BOI’s Resource-Based Industries Service is currently in The Hague for the 34th EU Business Conference and Exhibition (EUBCE) to promote the Philippine SAF industry and discuss the government’s PROPEL SAF Strategy with potential investors.
Peñaflor said the delegation successfully organized a dedicated Philippine SAF investment session during the High-Level SAF Roundtable, an invitation-only event held alongside the conference.
The 34th EUBCE, running from May 19 to 22, serves as a major global platform connecting scientists, industry leaders, and policymakers to accelerate research and market adoption in the bioenergy and circular bioeconomy sectors.
“In this EUBCE mission, we are also assisting SAFAsia in finding investment partners so it can reach a final investment decision by the end of the year and have the first SAF plant in the Philippines operational by 2028 or 2029,” Peñaflor said.
The BOI is actively pursuing additional investments and strategic partnerships needed to move the proposed projects toward commercial operations.
“There are lots of interested parties. We really need to follow through after the mission,” Peñaflor said, noting that most prospective investors are European firms.
Interest from European companies has been driven by the European Union’s mandated 2-percent SAF blending requirement, which took effect last year and is set to increase to 6 percent by 2030.
The Philippine SAF Industry Roadmap Framework was approved by the National Biofuels Board last year. Peñaflor said the BOI hopes to finalize the SAF Industry Roadmap by June 2026 through the leadership of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines and with technical assistance from the Global Green Growth Institute.
Initial BOI data showed that passenger traffic in the Philippines’ aviation sector is projected to reach 105.5 million by 2037. The country’s three major airlines currently operate a combined fleet of 186 aircraft.
Preliminary roadmap data also indicate strong growth in future SAF demand, depending on the pace of industry adoption.
The BOI said SAF investments may qualify for various incentives, including income tax holidays, special corporate income tax rates, duty-free importation of capital equipment, VAT incentives, and green lane facilitation.
Investments in SAF are seen as critical to decarbonizing the global aviation industry, which aims to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Developing SAF supply chains will require substantial capital to narrow the cost gap between SAF and conventional fossil-based jet fuel.
As a renewable fuel compatible with existing aircraft engines, SAF can reduce lifecycle carbon dioxide emissions by up to 80 percent compared to traditional jet fuel.
