Aboitiz’s Therma South to build coal-fired power plant in Davao City

By: Amy R. Remo

Philippine Daily Inquirer

3:47 pm | Thursday, May 26th, 2011

MANILA, Philippines—The Aboitiz-led Therma South Inc. was given the green light by the Board of Investments (BoI) as a new developer of a 300-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant in Davao City.

The BoI said the P24.9-billion project would create 121 jobs, and more importantly, provide the much-needed additional power supply to the Mindanao grid.

“The plant was designed for base load application and is intended to supply the electricity requirements of Mindanao. It will use clean technology in its operation and will source its coal requirements from Indonesia,” the BoI said in a statement.

Once it starts commercial operations in January 2015, the Davao coal plant will provide electricity to distribution utilities including Davao Light and Power Corp., Cotabato Light and Power Corp., Davao del Sur Electric Cooperative Inc. and Davao Oriental Electric Cooperative Inc.

The power to be generated will be delivered via the Mindanao grid upon the approval of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).

“This will go a long way towards not only meeting the energy requirements of Mindanao but also in fulfillment of the government’s vision of ‘Energy Access for More’ with mainstream access to reliable energy services in fueling up local productivity and countryside development,” said Trade Secretary and BoI chairman Gregory L. Domingo.

The coal facility of Therma South will be built on 46 hectares of land and 6.5 hectares of foreshore area. Approximately two thirds (36.7 has.) of the land is located at Davao City while the remaining one third (15.3 has.) at Davao del Sur.

The project site is on the narrow coastal strip of the eastern slope of Mt. Talomo, facing the Davao Gulf. The main plant will be located on the northern portion of the property, with the coal unloading facilities and storage areas located in the southern portion of the said property.

Meanwhile, projects worth a cumulative P1.84 billion and total job generation of 402 were also approved by the BoI. These are projects by Filinvest Land Inc., Oriental Vision Mining Phils. Corp., Venvi Agro Industrial Ventures Corp. and Panabo Trucking Services.