Alcantara Group sees okay for power plant project

MANILA, Philippines - The Alcantara Group is poised to secure local approval for its plan to put up a P12-billion 100-megawatt coal-fired power plant in the eastern part of Zamboanga City following positive results of the initial series of public consultation by government agencies.

 Company officials said the initial series of consultation of the DENR in Zamboanga elicited no opposition to the plan of San Ramon Power Corp., a subsidiary of the Alcantara Group, to build the 100-megawatt P12-billion coal-fired power plant in San Ramon in the eastern part of Zamboanga City.

“Based on our studies, we can conclude that the operation of the San Ramon Plant will have no adverse effects on the water, soil and air quality of the area surrounding the plant,” said Engineer Jethro Alden Hipe of environmental standards consulting firm Berkman Systems at the forum organized by the led by the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). 

San Ramon Power Corp. spokesperson Lewilin R. Lisondra said the Alcantara Group is confident it would be allowed to proceed with the project since its planned power plant exceeded the environmental and safety standards set by the government in the Clean Air Act.

Joseph Nocos, vice president for business development of the Alcantara Group, said the company is committed to comply with Philippine environmental regulations and World Bank guidelines.

The proposed Zamboanga Power Plant will be developed and managed by San Ramon Power Inc. – a subsidiary of Alsons Consolidated Resources (ACR) the publicly listed holding company of the Alcantara Group. San Ramon aims to initially provide the Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative, Inc. (ZAMCELCO) with a dedicated and exclusive supply of electrical power. ZAMCELCO is the electrical power supplier of Zamboanga City and some peripheral areas serving a population of close to a million people.

The plant is being built in anticipation of a power supply shortage in Mindanao by 2014 due to the lack of power generating facilities to supply the growing power demands of the island’s expanding population.