Chinese, Japanese firms seen having edge in Napocor bidding

The Xian Electric Machinery Import and Export Co. and the Sumitomo Electric Industries (through Kanematsu Corp.) have reportedly submitted the lowest bids for the transmission lines component of the Ilijan gas-fired power plant in Batangas.

Unofficial estimates place the project cost at a minimum of $30.50 million (approximately P1.2 billion).

The transmission project involves a 500-kilovolt (kV) transmission line connecting the Ilijan power plant to the different industrial and residential end-users through substations operated by the National Power Corp., (Napocor).

Industry sources privy to the bidding process said the two lowest bids may soon get the nod of the board of directors of Napocor. However, it has not yet been tabled for discussion, they added.

Eight bidders qualified for the public auction for the $30-million transmission project.

Aside from Sumitomo and Xian Electric, the other bidders were: First Philippine Balfour Beatty Inc. (a joint venture company between First Philippine Holdings Corp. and Balfour Beatty Ltd). Kurukawa Electric Co. Ltd.; Northeast China Electric Power Import and Export Corp.;

Asea Brown Boveri Sae Spa, a joint venture of China National Electric Wire and Cable Import and Export Corp. (CCC) and Central China Power Group International and Trade Co. Ltd. (CCPG); a consortium of Harbin Power Engineering Co. Ltd Heilongjian Power Transmission and Transformation Construction Corp. (HPTC) and Northeast Electric Power Desing Institute of the National Electric Power Corp. (NEPDI).

The contract covers the furnishing, delivery, installing and commissioning on a turn-key basis of a 230-kV and 500-kV substation equipment including line protection and communication system for the substations in Dasmarinas, Tayabas, San Jose and Ilijan plant under the 1,200-megawatt (MW) natural gas combined cycle power project.

Bidders for the substation equipment were: ABBA Network Partner, a consortium composed of Alstom T&D Systems Ltd., Cogelex Alsthom and ABB Calor Emag Schaltanlagen AG; First Philippine Holdings Corp., and Balfour Beatty Ltd.;

Hitachi Asia Ltd.; a consortium composed of Harbin Power Engineering Co. Ltd. (HPE), Heilongjiang Power Transmission & Transformer Construction Corp. (HPTC); Northeast Electric Power Design Institute of National Electricity Co. (NEPDI); a consortium of Pacific Power (International) Pty. Ltd., Electricity Transmission Authority of New South Wales (Transgird), Hyundai Engineering Co. Ltd. (Hyundai), Kanematsu Corp. (KG);

Northeast China Electric Power Import and Export Corp., Vatech Reyrolle Projects Ltd., Siemens AG, Toshiba Corp., Schneider Electric-France, and Mitsui & Co.

The 1,200-megawatt gas-fired combined cycle power generation facility will be operated by Kepco-Ilijan Corp. (Keilco), the local subsidiary of the Korean Power Co. (Kepco) of South Korea.

The $710-million Ilijan plant is the biggest gas-fired project in the country. The Keilco won the contract from Napocor under a 20-year build-operate-transfer (BOT) arrangement.

The plant's energy source will come from the natural gas reserves of the Camago-Malampaya wells off the shores of Palawan and Batangas, and it is operated by the Shell Philippines Exploration BV (Spex).