Semirara pushes power projects alone

Manila Bulletin

June 23, 2011, 12:29am

MANILA, Philippines — Semirara Mining Corporation is planning to put up a new subsidiary that will spearhead the construction of four new power plants that will double the group’s generating capacity to 1,200 MW from the current 600 MW.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Semirara said its board of directors has approved the firm’s additional investment in power generation with an additional 600 MW capacity in electric power generation.

The plans is to put up four units of 150 MW circulating fluidized bed power plants to be located alongside fully-owned subsidiary SEM-Calaca Power Corporation’s 600 MW coal fired thermal power plant in Batangas.

CFB is a clean coal technology (CCT) which seeks to reduce harmful emissions by capturing harmful particulates (sulfur and carbon dioxide) to prevent them from entering the atmosphere.

The 4x150 CFB power plant project will be carried out through a whollyried out through a wholly-owned subsidiary of Semirara to be subsequently incorporated with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The firm had earlier planned to partner with Manila Electric Company or Marubeni Corporation in putting up the additional capacity but had indicated recently that the Consunji firm may go ahead and put up the plants on its own.

Semirara vice chairman Isidro Consunji said earlier that they want to start the project as soon as possible and they may thus do it themselves initially and maybe sell down to a strategic partner later.

The firm plans to start with the first phase of the CFB power project which will consist of 300 MW to be completed in 24 months. Going by the rule of thumb of $1.5 million per MW, the entire project will cost about $900 million.

Semirara is currently negotiating for financing of the 600 MW project which it plans to fund with 50 percent debt and 50 percent equity. (JAL)