Business MirrorWritten by Lenie Lectura / Reporter Published on Sunday, 03 February 2013 19:36
EASTERN Renewables, a subsidiary of Eastern Petroleum Corp., signed a joint-venture agreement with the Manobos Trial Council on the establishment of a 10,000-hectare industrial tree plantation to secure the feedstock requirements of the company’s planned $60-million, 200-megawatt (MW) biomass power plant in Agusan del Sur province.
Fernando Martinez, Eastern Petroleum chairman and chief executive officer, said the plantation would improve the livelihood of the indigenous community, and discourage its members from practicing kaingin (clearing land for cultivation by slashing and burning trees) and making charcoal.
Under the deal, 1,000 seedlings will be planted for every hectare cultivated, and then harvest the trees within five years.
According to Martinez, the plantation will also generate jobs and income for the Manobos, who were earlier awarded a 50,000-hectare tenural title.
Construction of the power plant is expected to start within the third quarter of 2013, and begin operations by 2015.
“We will appoint an engineering, procurement and construction [EPC] contractor. It takes 18 months to order,” Martinez said.
The project will be financed through a combination of loans and internally generated cash.
“The financial closing for our biomass project and the EPC are expected to be finished in the first semester [of] this year,” the company chief said.
Martinez also said the project will be the largest in the country, which now hosts 3-MW, 5-MW and 12-MW biomass plants. He added that Eastern Renewables would cater to the needs of Agusan del Norte Electric Cooperative Inc. and the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market. source
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