"I believe the sugar industry has a bright future this year especially that there are a lot of investors willing to put up ethanol plants here," Marañon said.
Last November, the B.M. SB Integrated Biofuels Company, represented by Aurelio Lacson, entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with China's CAMC Engineering Co.Ltd. (CAMCE) for the establishment of ethanol plants in Negros Occidental.
Lacson said their group and their partner from China are planning to put up one plant in Kabankalan City in southern Negros and one in Murcia in central Negros.
He added that he is expecting for the revival of about a 100,000 hectares of land in the province that were once planted with sugar but have become idle or are devoted to other crops.
Meanwhile, supporting Marañon's projection is Sugar Regulator Administrator James Ledesma who once also said that Negros Occidental will soon be target of ethanol investors.
