Monday, March 14, 2011

Aboitiz Group seeks to build hydro power plant in Isabela


Manila Times.net
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BY EUAN PAOLO C. AÑONUEVO REPORTER
THE Aboitiz Group is keen on putting up a bulk water reservoir with an attached hydroelectric power plant in Isabela province, it was learned on Sunday.
Emmanuel Rubio, chief executive officer of the SN Aboitiz Power Inc. (SNAP), said that the company is studying the feasibility of putting up the proposed Ilaguen B dam. ”The province [of Isabela] is really pushing for it. I think if the province is that serious about the project, [then] I think it will push through,” he said.
SNAP is the joint venture of the Aboitiz Power Corp. (AP) and Norway’s Statkraft Norfund Power Invest AS, which operates hydroelectric power plants in Benguet and Isabela.
SNAP’s proposed dam in the latter would also involve the construction of a hydroelectric plant. Rubio, however, said that the capacity of the plant, which was originally projected at 88 megawatts, could still change pending the studies being conducted by SNAP on the facility.
”The original study says [that] it can generate 88 megawatts, but we are updating that. We have no estimates yet. We initially estimate to complete the feasibility study by the end of this year,” he added.
Once completed, the plant is expected to improve power and water supplies in Luzon, which are both affected during dry spells. Besides the proposed Ilaguen project, the Aboitiz Group also expressed interest in a number of hydroelectric power projects in frontier areas across the country.
Among these are the 33.8-megawatt Amburayan River prospect in Benguet; the 10-megawatt Quirino prospect in Ilocos Sur; the 175-megawatt Binongan prospect in Abra; the 46-megawatt Addalam prospect in Quirino; the 10-megawatt Hubo prospect in Surigao del Sur; the 11.3-megawatt Asiga River prospect in Agusan del Norte; the 17.5-megawatt Cateel E prospect in Davao del Norte; the 30.6-megawatt Tran AC River prospect in Maguin¬danao; and the Lake Mainit River prospect in Agusan del Norte.
The projects, which have an aggregate capacity of 384.2 megawatts, have a total estimated cost of $960.5 million.
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