SEAOIL Philippines is investing about P740 million to put up a terminal in the Zamboanga Economic Zone.
Seaoil said it has partnered with Zamboanga Economic Zone to build a bulk terminal, with a capacity to store 18 million liters of fuel. The depot is also capable of handling imported petroleum products.
The company said it is undertaking the project in partnership with the Zamboanga Economic Zone and Freeport Authority (ZFA), cementing a 50-year agreement with the ecozone to create development projects and activities for terminal and jetty operations.
The total leased area amounts to 2.12 hectares, with an option to further expand. The terminal and jetty development is set to be completed by 2023, and operations are projected to begin in the fourth quarter of the same year.
“This partnership with ZFA is much more than a business decision for us at Seaoil. By opening a terminal here in Zamboanga City, we can make our quality products more accessible to retail customers and commercial industries in the area.
As we expand our retail footprint in Southern Mindanao, more fuel consumers from Zamboanga, Jolo, Sulu, and Tawi-tawi, among others, can experience how Seaoil takes care of its customers through innovations such as the PriceLOCQ mobile app, which protects users from price hikes by enabling them to buy and store Seaoil fuels for later use while prices are lower,” said Stephen Yu, Seaoil President for Commercial Business and COO.
He added that the construction and operation of the facility will also provide more jobs and create more economic activities in the local community. The joint effort brings over 300 jobs in construction and operations, 90 percent of which will come from the local communities of Zamboanga City.
“We welcome this partnership with open arms as this is an excellent opportunity to pump more economic activity into the city. We also look forward to the jobs this terminal will bring to our locals,” said ZFA Chairman Raul Regondola.
Seaoil has over 650 branches nationwide with more being built this year to meet its target of having 1,000 branches in 2023.
In 2020, the company introduced the fuel-saving app, PriceLOCQ, which currently has more than 200,000 active users.
Last year, it launched PriceLOCQ for Business to also offer the unique price-locking feature to B2B customers. It also introduced its own branded service center, LubeServ, which provides automotive repairs and lubricant services using Seaoil products.