Construction at Aboitiz’s 300-MW plant on time

Business World Online
Posted on July 24, 2014 10:58:07 PM

DAVAO CITY -- Aboitiz Power Corp., the proponent of the 300-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant being built within the boundary of the city and Davao del Sur, said it is on track with its construction schedule and is confident that the project will be added to the Mindanao grid by the first half of 2015.

The Department of Energy reported that the company, as of May 31, accomplished 78% of the work and has contracted 240 MW of its output.

Based on the company’s expenditure report posted on its Web site, about P23.6 billion has been spent out of the P31.1 billion budget for the project.

One plant with an output of 150 MW will go online in the first quarter of next year while the other plant with the same output will be added to the grid by the second quarter.

“We are fully committed in delivering our power to our customers on time and help relieve Mindanaoans of the debilitating effects of the Mindanao power crisis,” said Manuel M. Orig, Aboitiz Power first vice president for Mindanao, in an earlier press statement.

The city government has also given the go signal to the Aboitiz group to expand the power complex’s output by another 345 MW.

Aboitiz subsidiary Therma South Inc. will be running the plant.

Without the expansion, based on company estimates, Mindanao would be short of power supply by about 240 MW by 2018. Based on data from government agencies, the region’s power requirement is growing by an annual 6%.

Under the expansion plan, another plant with a 172.5-MW capacity will be built. Aboitiz estimates the cost at P15 billion. -- Carmelito Q. Francisco source