LandBank tapped as lead arranger for Alsons power project's loan
Published Dec 25, 2018 12:00 am
By Myrna M. Velasco
The power investment group of the Alcantara group has tapped Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) as lead arranger for the loan component of its P17 billion power project in San Ramon, Zamboanga City.
According to Alsons Power Group Vice President for Project Development Joseph C. Nocos, about 70-percent loan will be funneled to the facility’s financing; while 30-percent will be injected as equity.
“We haven’t signed a loan agreement but the financing is being arranged by Land Bank…we borrow in peso denomination,” he said.
The project, he said, is up for completion in year 2022 and bulk of its capacity has been underwritten by a 25-year power supply agreement (PSA) with Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative Inc.
Another important next step for the company is selecting its engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor for the power plant venture – from its roll of four shortlisted bidders, namely Chinese firms Dongfang Electric International Corp.; the Northeast No. 1 Electric Power Construction Co. Ltd. (NEPC 1), a subsidiary of China Energy Engineering Group; then Shandong Electric Power Construction Company; and Singapore-based Jurong Engineering Ltd.
“The completion of the Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Project in December 2020 will help us expand our market for our remaining capacities,” Nocos said.
With ZAMCELCO, the off-take agreement covers the major fraction of 85 megawatts; hence, that leaves the company just 25 megawatts which it can dangle to end-users via the various marketing tools prescribed by edicts under the deregulated electricity market.
This is the second coal plant that the company is pursuing in Mindanao grid – the first one is the two-phased Sarangani coal plant with a total capacity of 210 megawatts.
The second unit of the Sarangani facility at 105MW capacity is targeted for commercial commissioning middle of next year; while the first unit was up commercially in 2016.
For the planned San Ramon coal-fired facility, the Alsons group noted that “once operational, the plant will play a crucial role in stabilizing power supply in the Zamboanga peninsula.”
It is worth noting that the Zamboanga coal plant project of the company had hurdled tricky processes – not just on community approval, but also in resolving market risk as well as the other tough concerns on project implementations.
Alongside its coal plant ventures that will partly be providing the baseload capacity requirements of Mindanao grid, the Alcantara group is likewise entering the investment space in the renewable energy sector – starting with its 15.1-megawatt Siguil hydropower project in Sarangani province.
According to Alsons Power Group Vice President for Project Development Joseph C. Nocos, about 70-percent loan will be funneled to the facility’s financing; while 30-percent will be injected as equity.
“We haven’t signed a loan agreement but the financing is being arranged by Land Bank…we borrow in peso denomination,” he said.
The project, he said, is up for completion in year 2022 and bulk of its capacity has been underwritten by a 25-year power supply agreement (PSA) with Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative Inc.
Another important next step for the company is selecting its engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor for the power plant venture – from its roll of four shortlisted bidders, namely Chinese firms Dongfang Electric International Corp.; the Northeast No. 1 Electric Power Construction Co. Ltd. (NEPC 1), a subsidiary of China Energy Engineering Group; then Shandong Electric Power Construction Company; and Singapore-based Jurong Engineering Ltd.
“The completion of the Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Project in December 2020 will help us expand our market for our remaining capacities,” Nocos said.
With ZAMCELCO, the off-take agreement covers the major fraction of 85 megawatts; hence, that leaves the company just 25 megawatts which it can dangle to end-users via the various marketing tools prescribed by edicts under the deregulated electricity market.
This is the second coal plant that the company is pursuing in Mindanao grid – the first one is the two-phased Sarangani coal plant with a total capacity of 210 megawatts.
The second unit of the Sarangani facility at 105MW capacity is targeted for commercial commissioning middle of next year; while the first unit was up commercially in 2016.
For the planned San Ramon coal-fired facility, the Alsons group noted that “once operational, the plant will play a crucial role in stabilizing power supply in the Zamboanga peninsula.”
It is worth noting that the Zamboanga coal plant project of the company had hurdled tricky processes – not just on community approval, but also in resolving market risk as well as the other tough concerns on project implementations.
Alongside its coal plant ventures that will partly be providing the baseload capacity requirements of Mindanao grid, the Alcantara group is likewise entering the investment space in the renewable energy sector – starting with its 15.1-megawatt Siguil hydropower project in Sarangani province.