MANILA - One of the sons of the country's richest man, Henry Sy Sr, on Thursday launched a cement business, betting on the construction boom while helping preserve the environment.

Henry Sy Jr.'s Big Boss Cement Inc will make cement from lahar or volcanic debris in Pampanga province. Since it requires less heat to process compared to limestone and clay, factories will emit less carbon dioxide, company officials said.

Sy Jr., who chairs Big Boss Cement, invested in the company in a personal capacity. He serves as chairman of SM Prime Holdings, which handles the family's shopping mall and real estate businesses.

“There’s a huge demand for cement. The company believes we should be able to fill in the demand instead of relying on imports,” BCCI President Gilbert Cruz said.

LOOK: SM group’s Henry “Big Boy” Sy Jr is chairman of new cement firm that claims to produce eco-friendly and stronger cement; instead of using limestones, it uses other raw matl like lahar @ANCALERTS pic.twitter.com/aGFHrUvnRV

— Michelle Krystle Ong (@michelle_d_ong) January 11, 2018

Big Boss Cement hopes to account for 3 percent of the estimated 25 million metric tons in demand for cement, which could nearly double to 40 million metric tons by 2022, Cruz said.

The company hopes to begin selling its products by March, priced at around P206 per bag.

Big Boss' first plant is located in Porac town, and will produce 1.5 million bags of cement per month.

Porac town in Pampanga, north of Manila was one of areas most affected by lahar flows from the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991.