Business World Online
Posted on May 26, 2011 09:36:47 PM
ABOITIZ-LED Therma South, Inc. has bagged tax breaks for its coal power plant straddling Davao City and Davao del Sur, the Board of Incentives (BoI) said in a statement yesterday.
The 300-megawatt, P25-billion power plant is slated to operate by January 2015 and employ 121 personnel, the state agency said in a statement.
Under the current Investment Priorities Plan, power generation projects are among the preferred business activities qualified for incentives such as income tax holidays and duty-free entry of imported equipment.
Therma South is a wholly owned subsidiary of Therma Power, Inc. and an affiliate of Aboitiz Power Corp.
The facility is planned for a 46-hectare lot, two-thirds of which is located in Barangay Binugao, Toril, Davao City while the rest is in Barangay Inawayan, Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur.
Some local groups have opposed the project because of possible environmental degradation, recent reports said, but Therma South assured it would use clean technology in its operation, the statement read.
The plant’s generated electricity will be sold to Davao Light and Power Corp., Cotabato Light and Power Corp., Davao del Sur Electric Cooperative, Inc., and Davao Oriental Electric Cooperative, Inc.
It will then be delivered via the Mindanao grid operated by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines upon approval of the Energy Regulatory Commission.
“This will go a long way toward not only meeting the energy requirements of Mindanao but also in fulfillment of the government’s vision…with mainstream access to reliable energy services fueling up local productivity and countryside development,” Trade Secretary and BoI Chair Gregory L. Domingo said in the statement.
Similarly, the board also granted tax perks to projects by Filinvest Land, Inc., Oriental Vision Mining Phils. Corp., Venvi Agro Industrial Ventures Corp., and Panabo Trucking Services, Inc., which have a combined worth of P1.84 billion and a total job generation of 402.
BoI approval rose threefold to P110.4 billion worth of investments in the first quarter from P35.1 billion in the same period last year, the agency’s data show.
In a related development, Aboitiz Power yesterday said Davao Light and Power Co. and Therma South have signed a memorandum of agreement with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for a 500-hectare reforestation project in Upper Kibalang in Marilog, about two hours from Davao City.
A statement from the company said the signing of the agreement last May 20 also involved Kibalang Agro-forestry Farmers Association, an organization of settlers which will be managing the community-based forestry area for 25 years.
The parties in the agreement could exercise the option of expanding or extending the project, the statement read.
The reforestation activities will be undertaken either by members of the community or by employees of the two companies.
The firms have reportedly committed to “use the adopted area as the showcase of their sustainability program that will include environment and biodiversity protection as the umbrella project, with components on education, livelihood and health.” -- Eliza J. Diaz and Carmelito Q. Francisco
Under the current Investment Priorities Plan, power generation projects are among the preferred business activities qualified for incentives such as income tax holidays and duty-free entry of imported equipment.
Therma South is a wholly owned subsidiary of Therma Power, Inc. and an affiliate of Aboitiz Power Corp.
The facility is planned for a 46-hectare lot, two-thirds of which is located in Barangay Binugao, Toril, Davao City while the rest is in Barangay Inawayan, Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur.
Some local groups have opposed the project because of possible environmental degradation, recent reports said, but Therma South assured it would use clean technology in its operation, the statement read.
The plant’s generated electricity will be sold to Davao Light and Power Corp., Cotabato Light and Power Corp., Davao del Sur Electric Cooperative, Inc., and Davao Oriental Electric Cooperative, Inc.
It will then be delivered via the Mindanao grid operated by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines upon approval of the Energy Regulatory Commission.
“This will go a long way toward not only meeting the energy requirements of Mindanao but also in fulfillment of the government’s vision…with mainstream access to reliable energy services fueling up local productivity and countryside development,” Trade Secretary and BoI Chair Gregory L. Domingo said in the statement.
Similarly, the board also granted tax perks to projects by Filinvest Land, Inc., Oriental Vision Mining Phils. Corp., Venvi Agro Industrial Ventures Corp., and Panabo Trucking Services, Inc., which have a combined worth of P1.84 billion and a total job generation of 402.
BoI approval rose threefold to P110.4 billion worth of investments in the first quarter from P35.1 billion in the same period last year, the agency’s data show.
In a related development, Aboitiz Power yesterday said Davao Light and Power Co. and Therma South have signed a memorandum of agreement with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for a 500-hectare reforestation project in Upper Kibalang in Marilog, about two hours from Davao City.
A statement from the company said the signing of the agreement last May 20 also involved Kibalang Agro-forestry Farmers Association, an organization of settlers which will be managing the community-based forestry area for 25 years.
The parties in the agreement could exercise the option of expanding or extending the project, the statement read.
The reforestation activities will be undertaken either by members of the community or by employees of the two companies.
The firms have reportedly committed to “use the adopted area as the showcase of their sustainability program that will include environment and biodiversity protection as the umbrella project, with components on education, livelihood and health.” -- Eliza J. Diaz and Carmelito Q. Francisco
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