Zamora group allots $120 M for power projects

MANILA, Philippines - Zamora-led Montalban Methane Power Corp. (MMPC) plans to invest over $120 million to diversify its energy portfolio to include hydro, wind and solar, the company’s top executive said.

The projects, however, will hinge on the government’s approval of the feed-in-tariff (FIT) on renewable energy (RE), MMPC president Peregrino Fernandez said.

While waiting for the FIT, however, he said they would focus on the planned hydropower projects.

“We want to concentrate on hydro as no FIT is needed. Hydro does not rely on FIT,” he said.

The company is eyeing to start construction by March 2012 of a nine-megawatt (MW) hydropower plant in Samar with an estimated project cost of about $30 million. It was able to secure approval for the Samar-based run-of-river hydropower project.

Fernandez said they would also be investing about $80 million for a 25-MW hydropower facility in Agusan which is expected to start construction not later than February 2012. MMPC will conduct this project with an undisclosed foreign partner.

The firm is also putting up a four-MW small hydropower facility in Rizal at an estimated cost of $12 million.

On top of these hydropower projects, MMPC is also eyeing to construct a 60-MW wind power farm in Luzon.

Fernandez said MMPC is likewise looking at the possibility of putting up a total of 50-MW solar power projects in Batangas, Pangasinan and Rizal.

MMPC, through Tranzen Group Inc., is the holding company of the Zamora Group, which also has investments in transportation and tourism.

MMPC is 60 percent owned by Tranzen Group and 40 percent by Carbon Assets Fund of Cayman Island, a majority owned company of UK-based Carbon Capital Markets.

The company is running a P1.5-billion methane power plant in Rizal which supplies power to Manila Electric Co. (Meralco). The plant recovers harmful methane gas from the Rodriguez garbage dumpsite to generate electricity.

Based on earlier plans, Tranzen will put up similar methane projects in four other sites in the Philippines including Angeles City, Olongapo City, Davao City and San Mateo, Rizal.

The group also needs to enter into the power business as it intensifies its tourism-related ventures. It would be noted that the group earlier tied up with Banyan Tree Holdings Ltd. for the construction of a $200-million premier integrated island resort project – Isla Diwaran – in Coron, Palawan.

Isla Diwaran is targeted to open in 2012 with a total of 600 rooms, spas, a marina, and a town center with full-fledged recreation facilities, retail and food and beverage outlets.

MMPC’s main shareholder, businessman Manny Zamora, has interests in Oriental Vision Mining Philippines Corp. and Hinatuan Mining Corp. He is likewise an investor in Universal LRT Corp. which is undertaking the MRT-7 project.