SNAP to decide on investment in $1-billion Alimit project by August

By Myrna M. Velasco
https://business.mb.com.ph/2019/06/28/snap-to-decide-on-investment-in-1-billion-alimit-project-by-august/

BALI, Indonesia – The members of the board of SN Aboitiz Power, Inc. (SNAP) will discuss in their scheduled board meeting this August whether a final investment decision (FID) could finally be rendered on their planned 390-
megawatt Alimit hydropower facility in Ifugao province which will command an investment of more than US$1.0 billion.

“We have to discuss it in the board if it is viable to go ahead with it. We already secured community approval and the necessary permits for the project, so that’s a favorable development” Aboitiz Power Chief Operating Officer and SNAP Board Director Emmanuel V. Rubio said in an interview here.

SNAP emphasized that the first phase of the project will be the construction of the 120MW Alimit plant along with the 20MW Olilicon facility which will require capital outlay of US$450 million to US$550 million.

The second phase of the blueprinted hydropower complex will be the 250MW Alimit pumped storage venture that may also call for a scale of cash injection matching the first phase of the project.

On the whole, the numbers crunched for this large-scale hydropower development had been between US$1.05 billion to US$1.225 billion.

Project sponsor firm SNAP recently indicated that it already secured the approval of the four municipalities that will be hosting the Alimit project – namely Aguinaldo, Lagawe, Lamut and Mayoyao.

A subsequent development to that had been the signing of a framework agreement between the project developer and the host LGUs. SNAP is a joint venture between Aboitiz Power Corporation and SN Power of Norway.

SNAP explained that “the agreement outlines the cooperation, collaboration and obligations between and among SNAP as project proponent and the municipalities as hosts during the development and operation of the project.”

During the signing of that pact with the host communities, SNAP President and Chief Executive Officer Joseph S. Yu asserted that a “meaningful collaboration with our stakeholders and communities can help propel our country toward a more energy-secure future.”

Following the restructuring of the Philippine power sector in the last decade, this is considered a major and landmark development in the hydropower sector – primarily in the installation of pumped storage on a greenfield project.

The country is currently experiencing supply tightness – made manifest during the summer months, due to combined impact of de-rating of hydro generation and forced outages of power plants.

What came out as prognosis in the power-reserve strained incidents of the summer months is the need for capacity additions to secure the country’s power supply moving forward. And on that sphere, the Alimit hydropower project could help satiate that need for capacity shoring up beyond years 2022-2023.