The Alternative Fuels Corporation, a subsidiary of the Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC), has recently signed a 1.3 billion dollar deal with NRG Chemical Engineering (a UK-based company), to invest in  facilities for biodiesel and bioethanol production.. The agreement includes plans for a one-million-hectare jatropha plantation, a biodiesel refinery, and two ethanol production plants. While waiting for the jatropha plantations to be harvestable, the initial raw material will be coconut and vegetable oils.  Initial capacity will be 350,000 metric tons of biodiesel per year, to increase gradually to an ultimate target production capacity of 3.5 million tons per year. The construction and operation of two ethanol production plants using sweet sorghum as biofuel feedstock are also planned, each with a capacity of 300,000 metric tons and a cost of about US$200 million. Commercial operations are expected to start in 2008..