San Miguel investing $4.2 B for 5 new power facilities

MANILA, Philippines – The San Miguel Group is putting up five new power plants at an estimated cost of $4.2 billion, its top official said yesterday.

In a briefing, San Miguel Corp. president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang also bared plans to build three more industrial estates in Mindanao, each having at least 300 megawatts (MW) in power plant capacity.

“We are aspiring to build three more industrial estates to generate more jobs and provide an area for locators investing in Mindanao,” he said.

Ang said the company has already started negotiations with landowners for a long-term lease for the development.

“Once we come to an agreement, we will build power plants, ports, and convert the land into an industrial estate,” he said.

With industry estimates pegging the cost of building power plants at $2 million per megawatt, the three 300-MW power plants would likely cost $1.8 billion, Ang said.

He said power demand is seen to rise along with the increase in investments in the industrial estates.

Currently, the San Miguel Group is developing a 2,000-hectare industrial estate in Davao under SMC Davao Industrial Estate.

It would have an international port, a private airport with a concrete runway and a 600-MW power generation facility set for partial commissioning in the second quarter this year.

Meanwhile, the San Miguel chief said the group will also build two more power plants in Luzon – the Central Luzon Premiere Power Corp. (CLPPC) and Mariveles Power Generation Corp. (MPGC).

Each plant has a capacity of 600 MW for a total of 1,200 MW.

“These are brand-new plants which will run in 2018 and 2019. Both plants will cost $2.4 billion,” Ang said.

Earlier this month, power distribution giant Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) forged power supply agreements with CLPPC and MPGC.

Under the deal, Meralco will purchase up to 528 MW of capacity from each power facility.

These power projects will be built by SMC Global Power Holdings Corp.