Manila: The Philippines is now ready to be the 'go to destination' of high-tech and high-impact investments, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said Monday. Marcos made the pronouncement as he led the inauguration of the StBattalion (StB) Giga Factory - the country's' first manufacturing plant for lithium-iron-phosphate batteries- in a ceremonial switch-on at the Filinvest Innovation Park at the New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac. Funded by the Australian investment firm St Baker Energy, the project was part of the investment commitments Marcos secured during his trip to Melbourne in March this year for the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit. In his speech, Marcos hailed the project for turning into fruition in record-time. He added it will position the Philippines as a regional leader in clean storage and renewable energy. 'It sends this message to the world. The Philippines is now ready to innovate, to lead, to become the go to destination for high-tech, high impact investments, as the first manufacturing plan t in the Philippines for advanced iron phosphate batteries, often used in renewable energy and electrical vehicles,' Marcos said. 'The StB Giga Factory sets the stage for the Philippines to become a player in clean storage in our part of the world, in Southeast Asia, in our region." StB Giga Factory will open up about 2,500 direct and indirect jobs in the field of engineering, technical, finance and administrative personnel for Filipinos once it reach its full production capacity by 2030. At full production capacity, StB Giga is also expected to pour in over PHP5 billion annually into the local economy, with contributions coming from businesses, suppliers and partners benefiting from their operations. The initial production line of StB Giga has a capacity of 300 megawatt-hours (MWh) annually, equivalent to about 6,000 electric vehicles (EVs) batteries or about 60,000 home battery systems in developing countries such as the Philippines. It plans to export 70 percent of its output to Australia, Southeast A sia and North America, with the remainder of its output to be distributed within the Philippines. StB Giga is the first locator at the Filinvest Innovation Park within the 9,450-hectare New Clark City managed by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA). Source: Philippines News Agency