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Masinloc, Zambales: New York-listed AES Corp. has
taken over the operations of the 600-megawatt coal-fired power plant
in this province.
AES earlier acquired the facility
after paying in full the $930 million it offered in an auction
conducted by the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management
Corp. (PSALM).
“This acquisition is a key
component of our strategy to invest in areas where there is a
significant need for new capacity and offers AES an excellent entry
point into the growing Philippine economy through one of the
lowest-cost thermal plants in the system,” Paul Hanrahan, AES
president and chief exeuctive, said.
Originally constructed in 1998,
the plant uses coal from a variety of sources in the Pacific Rim.
Through this acquisition, AES operates the Philippines’ first
privatized coal plant.
The company plans to double the
facility’s capacity, which would help alleviate a looming supply
crunch in the country in the next couple of years.
“This is a particularly
attractive investment because the existing facility has the
infrastructure in place to allow AES to add an additional 600
megawatts of generation capacity. As AES has done through similar
acquisitions in other parts of the world, we expect to improve the
overall efficiency and output of the existing plant,” Hanrahan
said.
AES and its 8-percent minority
partner International Finance Corp. (IFC) paid 100 percent of the
purchase price upfront to complete the Masinloc transaction in one
step.
Including transaction costs and
completion of a planned upgrade program to improve environmental and
operational performance, the total project cost is estimated at
$1.057 billion.
The transaction funding included
$635 million in secured non-recourse financing composed of a
$2400-million, 18-year facility from IFC, a $200-million, 15-year
facility from Asian Development Bank, and a $195-million, 10-year
facility from a consortium of banks including ING Bank, Security
Bank, Bank of the Philippine Islands, and Rizal Commercial Banking
Corp.
In addition, over $30 million of
unsecured working capital facility commitments have been obtained
from three local banks.
AES is one of the world’s
largest power companies, with 2007 revenues of $13.6 billion. With
operations in 28 countries on five continents, the company’s
generation and distribution facilities have the capacity to serve
100 million people worldwide.
 --Euan
Paulo C. Añonuevo
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