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By Darwin G. Amojelar, Reporter
THE Asian Development Bank has endorsed to its
board the loan proposed by Emerald Energy Corp. (EEC) to finance the
refurbishment of the Calaca coal-fired thermal power plant project
in Batangas.
Haruhiko Kuroda, ADB president, has recommended
for the board’s approval the $120-million loan that ECC will use
to buy and rehabilitate the 600-megawatt (MW) Calaca coal-fired
thermal plant and a political risk guarantee of up to $90 million.
Kuroda said he is satisfied “ that the
proposed loan and political risk guarantee would comply with the
Articles of Agreement of the Asian Development Bank [ADB] ... “
EEC is a special-purpose company wholly
owned by Suez-Tractebel S.A. (Suez) through its subsidiary
Belgelectric Finance B.V. (BFB). The Calaca plant was sold to the
Belgian firm Suez for $786.53 million last year.
“The successful acquisition and operation of
the Calaca plant by a reputable foreign entity will boost market
confidence and encourage the further privatization of NPC [Napocor]
assets and the entry of new players into the market,” the ADB
said.
Suez is an international industrial and services
group in the energy and environment sectors, with over 150,000 staff
working on four continents serving some 200 million people in 3,000
municipalities, and with annual revenues of over $50 billion.
The ADB said the project involves the
refurbishment of an existing coal-fired thermal power station with
no capacity expansion under the project financing plan.
“Refurbishment activities are mainly
associated with replacing existing equipment that has been in
service for 10 years to 20 years, but the fundamental plant design
or capacity will not be altered, and local and imported coal will
remain the primary fuel,” ADB said.
The bank lender said the project will also help
improve the investment climate by increasing the reliability of
generating capacity for commercial and industrial centers.
The ADB added that the project will enhance
competition in the generator market and help drive down the price of
electricity in the long run.
The Calaca power plant is a 600-megawatt (MW)
conventional, pulverized coal–fired power plant built by the
National Power Corp. (NPC). It consists of two 300-MW coal-fired
units commissioned in 1984 and 1995.
The plant uses local coal from Semirara and
imported coal from Australia and Indonesia.
The Calaca facility has been allocated a
substantial 287-megawatt power supply contract, or about 48 percent
of the plant’s rated capacity. This will provide the new owner a
ready market for the electricity that the facility will generate.
Manila Electric Co. will buy the biggest portion of the contracted
energy equivalent to 169 megawatts.
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