Business and Economy
Alsons secures PHP10.5-B loan for Sarangani power plant expansion
The Sarangani Energy Corp. (SEC), a subsidiary of Alsons Consolidated Resources, Inc. (ACR), has secured a PHP10.5-billion syndicated loan that will help finance the construction of the second 105-megawatt (MW) section of SEC’s 210-MW coal-fired baseload power plant in Maasim, Sarangani province. (PNA photo)
MANILA—The Sarangani Energy Corp. (SEC), a subsidiary of Alsons Consolidated Resources, Inc. (ACR), has secured a PHP10.5-billion syndicated loan that will help finance the construction of the second 105-megawatt (MW) section of SEC’s 210-MW coal-fired baseload power plant in Maasim, Sarangani province.
According to a news release issued by ACR Wednesday, the loan has a 13.5-year tenor, including a 3.5-year grace period on principal repayment.
The loan agreement was signed by SEC and a consortium of local banks consisting of BDO Universal Bank (BDO), Asia United Bank (AUB), Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC), United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB), Philippine Business Bank, China Bank Savings, and Robinsons Bank Corp. The joint lead arrangers for the loan are BDO Capital and Investment Corp., RCBC Capital Corp., AUB, and UCPB.
The SEC plant’s first 105-MW section began commercial operations in April last year, providing much-needed baseload power to more than 3 million people residing in Sarangani, General Santos City, Iligan City, Compostela Valley, Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, and other major population centers of Mindanao.
Construction of the SEC plant’s second 105-MW section began last January. Once completed in the first half of 2019, SEC Section 2 will benefit another 3 million residents of South Cotabato, Davao del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, Cagayan de Oro City, and other key areas of Mindanao.
ACR, the publicly listed company of the Alcantara Group and Mindanao’s first and most experienced independent power producer, holds a 75-percent equity in SEC, with Toyota Tsusho Corp. (TTC), the trading company of the Toyota Group, owning a 25-percent equity in SEC.
Aside from SEC, ACR operates three diesel power facilities — the 103-MW Mapalad Power Corp. diesel plant in Iligan City, the 55-MW Southern Philippines Power Corp. facility in Alabel, Sarangani; and the 100-MW power plant of the Western Mindanao Power Corp. in Zamboanga City.
This year, ACR expects to begin construction of the 15-MW Siguil River run-of-river hydroelectric plant in Maasim, Sarangani; and the 105-MW San Ramon Power, Inc. (SRPI) baseload coal-fired power plant in Talisayan, Zamboanga City.
The 15-MW Siguil run-of-river power plant will be ACR’s first foray on renewable energy.
The company plans to develop other run-of-river hydropower projects with a total potential capacity of 185 MW in different places in Mindanao and Negros Occidental.
The 105-MW SRPI plant meanwhile is projected to begin operating in late 2020 to provide baseload power to Zamboanga City and other key areas in Mindanao.
ACR-affiliated power facilities are expected to have a total generating capacity of 588 MW by 2020. This would fulfill more than 25 percent of Mindanao’s projected peak power demand for that year.
