Two pumped storage hydroelectric power projects with a combined investment of P439 billion helmed by subsidiaries under the Razon Group's Prime Infrastructure were approved Tuesday, April 2, under the Green Lane initiative of the Board of Investments (BOI).
The two Razon projects were among the P1.9 trillion projects approved by the BOI for green lane processing as of April 1 this year.
Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual conferred the certificates of endorsements to Prime Infrastructure Board Chairman Enrique K. Razon Jr. in a ceremony in Paranaque City.
The projects awarded the Green Lane endorsements during the ceremony were the P296 billion (or $5.03 billion) worth 1400MW (megawatt) Pakil Pumped Storage Hydroelectric Power Project investments of Ahunan Power Inc. and the P143 billion (or $2.57 billion) worth 600MW Wawa Pumped Storage 1 Hydroelectric Power Project of Olympia Violago Water Power Inc.
The Pakil Power Project is expected to be "among the largest pumped storage power plants in Asia" that can supply 10 to 12 hours' worth of 1200MW power everyday to around two million households. The project is targeted to start operations in 2030.
Meanwhile, the Wawa Power Project in Rizal is also slated to begin operating in 2030. It is anticipated to support the ancillary, energy supply and storage of the current power grid, with its 6,000MWH/day storage capacity.
Pascual, in his speech, emphasized the commitment of the DTI to pursue investments in renewable energy (RE), especially expanding green energy sources.
"The DTI remains steadfast in our ongoing efforts toward secure, sustainable, and resilient energy strategies to fuel our nation's growing economic development. The Department has been proactive in the promotion and facilitation of renewable energy investments through the green lane initiative,” said Pascual.
For his part, Razon said, "in our energy portfolio, we are strategically aggressive in the pumped storage space, given the critical role these projects will play in enabling government transition commitment."
"Given the complexity of these projects, the green lane endorsement of DTI and BOI will significantly assist Prime Infra and its subsidiaries in expediting the execution of these initiatives," he remarked.
In the same event, Pascual announced that investments under the Green Lane initiative have amounted to P1.9 trillion from 2023 to April 1.
As per data from DTI sent to reporters through Viber, 51 of the approved projects were related to RE, with a project cost of P1.57 billion. Four digital infrastructure projects (P302 billion), two manufacturing (P3.4 billion) and two food security projects (P29.6 billion) were also granted an endorsement for the Green Lane.
Around P1.4 trillion of these were approved in the first quarter of 2024, as per the breakdown of projects given by the Trade Secretary's Executive Assistant Jon Reyes.
Executive Order No. 18 pertains to the Green Lane initiative that prioritizes streamlined and expedited services for projects identified as strategic investments.