Indonesia's ice cream manufacturer Aice Brands is building an ice cream plant in the Philippines within the LIMA Estate in Batangas that will become its fourth outside of Indonesia and its biggest factory in the ASEAN region to date.
Aboitiz InfraCapital (AIC) Economic Estates and Aice Brands Ice Cream Philippines Inc. signed the memorandum of understanding for the new locator. Aboitiz InfraCapital is the infrastructure arm of the Aboitiz Group.
In a statement, AIC said that Aice Brand’s 49,070 sqm factory sits within the 150-hectare industrial expansion of LIMA Estate and is targeted to be operational by October 2023. It will be its fourth factory outside Indonesia and its largest and most advanced within the ASEAN region. The new plant will mainly supply the Philippine market.
The manufacturing plant features cutting-edge technology to supply the increasing demand of the Philippine market.
The factory is expected to generate more than 2,000 job opportunities for the residents of Batangas and nearby provinces, all geared towards speeding up the process of food production and serving more customers.
AIC further said that the 4.9 hectare ice cream manufacturing complex is one of the four facilities that have begun construction in LIMA Estate’s industrial expansion, cementing the Estate’s track record of timely turnovers to its locators, and addressing their expansion and operational needs on time.
At present, 95 locators are operating within LIMA Estate, while another 45 locators are currently in the planning and construction stage.
As the country’s leader and pioneer in sustainable industrial-anchored mixed-use development, LIMA Estate is able to leverage the strength of its affiliates within the Aboitiz Group, one of the country’s oldest and largest conglomerates with investments across a number of major industries throughout the country.
For instance, power distribution, a fundamental need of any business and community, is operated by LIMA Enerzone, which is part of the Aboitiz Power Group, one of the nation’s top power producers with a diverse portfolio of hydroelectric, geothermal, solar, and thermal generation facilities, as well as the owner of the second-and third-largest distribution utilities in the country. Its expertise allows the businesses and community within LIMA Estate to power up through reliable, reasonable, and responsible energy solutions.
In addition, water distribution and wastewater service, critical necessities for a business or community to flourish, is operated by LIMA Water, part of the Aboitiz InfraCapital Group, which has investments in bulk water, as well as provincial water distribution systems in 20 provinces throughout the country. Its expertise ensures the long-term availability of water for the growing LIMA Estate community while ensuring that it meets the highest environmental standards.
These features make LIMA Estate an attractive location for local and international brands operating within the food and beverage industry, such as Aice Brands.
“We chose to partner with Aboitiz InfraCapital to provide more service guarantees for the development of the early civil construction and the formal operation of the later factory,” shared Cai Xiang Jun, Aice Brands Ice Cream Philippines Inc.’s Engineering Director.
“As an international development zone, LIMA Estate’s professional operations team, high-quality service, professional technical personnel, and safe security enable us to meet the needs of the local market and further our goal of being the most popular ice cream brand in Southeast Asia. As we commit to creating a positive impact in the Philippines, we look forward to providing more job opportunities, growing together with resellers in every community, and spreading more happiness to our consumers,” Cai added.
Aboitiz InfraCapital’s 150-hectare industrial expansion will bring new inventory to market at a time when interest in the Philippines as an investment destination is picking up momentum.
“Foreign investors recognize the market potential of the Philippines within ASEAN, and they see LIMA Estate and Aboitiz InfraCapital as the perfect partner. We’re going beyond simply providing a high-quality physical product, we are also putting sustainability, resilience, and smart technology adoption at the forefront of everything we are doing, which now puts us on par with regional players” said LIMA Land, Inc. President, and Aboitiz InfraCapital Economic Estates Head Rafael Fernandez de Mesa.
AIC’s partnership with Aice Brands is a testament to the success of LIMA’s industrial expansion, which upon completion is expected to generate at least 40,000 jobs, cementing LIMA Estate’s position as a driver of economic activity and progress that uplifts the lives of thousands of Filipinos.
Aboitiz InfraCapital’s (AIC) Economic Estates business unit operates and develops industrial estates with complementary commercial, institutional, and residential components. AIC Economic Estates include the 794-hectare LIMA Estate in Lipa-Malvar, Batangas, the 63-hectare Mactan Economic Zone 2 Estate and the 540- hectare West Cebu Estate in Cebu. Spanning over 1,000 hectares in total—the multi-awarded AIC Economic Estates are well-supported by a complete ecosystem of infrastructure facilities and services, run by Aboitiz affiliates including Aboitiz Equity Ventures, AboitizPower, and Aboitiz Construction.
Registered with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, the LIMA Estate is located in the Lipa-Malvar, Batangas industrial corridor. The mixed-use development hosts 130 locators, 167 retail stores and restaurants, a 4-star hotel, a transportation hub, over 2,000 households, and over 60,000 employees. An industrial-anchored estate, LIMA Estate is envisioned to be the next leading mixed-use economic center for CALABARZON, with BPOs, dormitories, hotels, schools, hospitals, churches, and other institutions.