DAVAO CITY—An Indonesian energy company has offered Mindanao investors to tap its vast tract of property in central Indonesia for biofuel-crop plantation and mass production of biofuel.

The Indo Digital Base (IDB) Energy Solution Co. Ltd. has asked the assistance of the one-stop investment window National Economic Research and Business Assistance Center (Nerbac) here to help it find a business partner “who is interested to invest on two major agreements —biofuel-crop plantation and mass production of biofuel.”

The IDB Energy Solution is an Indonesian-based company which has offered interested Filipino investor to plant a new variety of bio-energy crop that the company has developed: the IDB Super Jatropha and Superior Cassava, which yield 100 percent more than that of the ordinary varieties.

The jatropha curcas is used to produce biodiesel, and cassava is used to produce bioethanol.

The Super Jatropha yields 40 tons of seeds per hectare, while ordinary cultivar is only at 8 to 12 tons per hectare, the IDB Energy Solution said in its e-mail sent to the Nerbac on Monday.

The Superior Cassava, on the other hand, yields between 100 and 150 tons per hectare, while the usual variety is only at 30 tons per hectare.

In its e-mail, IDB Energy Solution general director Daniel Choi said his company would provide the land that will be used in planting the two major biofuel raw materials.

“We will provide the needed land [50,000 to more than 200,000 hectares] for the plantation of jatropha and cassava. We will also take charge in securing the government approval of the document in Indonesia,” Choi said.

On its web site, the company has potential lands for development in the Sukabumi, Nusa Tenggara Barat and NTI area, all in central Indonesia. In the NTI area, the lands are found in Ngada (32,000 hectares), Nagekeo (55,000 ha), Manggarai (170,000 ha) and West Manggarai (120,000 ha).

Sukabumi has 50,000 ha, while in the NTB area has as large as 500,000 ha.

The IDB Co. Ltd., comprising the subsidiary companies including the IDB Energy Solution, was established in 2003 and concentrates in the three key business of bioenergy and engineering, education and culture, and information technology.

Lou Pasawa, center manager of Nerbac and, at the same time, the city director of the Department of Trade and Industry, said he has already posted the invitation of the company on the web site of the Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines-East Asean Growth Area Investment Conference (BIMP-Eaga ICon).

“Being a member of the growth area where we have the cooperation among the four countries, these things are entitled to be spread for information in the business community of the BIMP Eaga,” he said.

Although Mindanao has also its own promotion effort on biofuel, Pasawa said, “we would be looking at the same complementation that we have been working in the growth area.”

There were no replies yet to the web site posting so far, he said.

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DAVAO CITY—An Indonesian energy company has offered Mindanao investors to tap its vast tract of property in central Indonesia for biofuel-crop plantation and mass production of biofuel.

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