By Myrna M. Velasco
The Alsons Power Group of the Alcantaras has shortlisted two Chinese firms for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract of its 105-megawatt Zamboanga coal-fired power project that it targets to set on commercial stream by year 2023.
The shortlisted firms are Northeast No. 1 Electric Power Constuction Co. Ltd. (NPEC), which is a wholly owned subsidiary of China Energy Engineering Group; and the other is Shandong Electric Power Construction Company (SEPCO III), which is a subsidiary of Power Construction Corporation of China.
In a statement to the media, Alsons Power noted that the greenfield power project will have to cater to the medium to long-term electricity needs - primarily of Zamboanga City as well as its neighboring areas in the Mindanao grid.
“The two firms edged out three other multinational engineering and construction companies that bidded for the SRPI (San Ramon Power Inc) power plant,” Alsons said.
The company added “preliminary engineering and design work is expected to begin within the fourth quarter of 2019 while commercial operations are set to commence in 2023.”
With Zamboanga’s power supply now at a wobbly state, it has been noted that this propounded capacity addition “will play a crucial role in providing baseload power to Zamboanga City and stabilizing power supply in the Zamboanga peninsula.”
Joseph Nocos, vice president for project development of Alsons Power, said the company is keen on bringing the plant to commercial fruition as it is targeted so it could serve the requirements of the city.
On the tenders submitted for the proposed facility’s EPC deal, Nocos stressed the “bid submissions are a testimony to the keen interest the SRPI project has generated and are a confidence to the future of Zamboanga City.”
SRPI Project Manager Engineer Archimedes Donato similarly indicated that “the people of Zamboanga City and nearby areas can look forward to state-of-the-art baseload power plant right here in the city to provide safe, reliable and affordable electricity.
The Zamboanga power project is the next development that the Alsons Power Group will be advancing in Mindanao grid – following the completion of the two-unit Sarangani coal-fired plant of 105MW capacity each.