CEBU CITY—The Korean Electric Co. (Kepco)-SPC Power Corp. (KSPC) consortium on Thursday held a groundbreaking ceremony to start the construction of its 200-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant in Naga City, south of Cebu City, while announcing that most of its expected output had already been contracted to distributors.

Alfredo Henares, executive vice president of Kepco-KSPC, said the company has already sealed power-purchase agreements with seven electric cooperatives in Cebu and Negros, which could cover for 160 MW.

The biggest buyer, he said, would be Central Negros Electric Cooperative Inc. (Ceneco), which signed to buy 90 MW from the power plant that is set to be completed in 2011.

Other power cooperatives which signed agreements with Kepco-KSPC are the Cebu Electric Cooperative Inc. (Cebeco) 1, 2 and 3.

The contracts with the cooperatives are already pending approval with the Energy Regulatory Commission.

Carlos Co, the chairman of the Cebu business sector’s Cebu Power Core Group, expressed hope the $272-million power plant would be enough to secure Cebu and the Cebu-Negros-Panay (CNP) grid’s power requirements in the long term.

He said the 200 MW of KSPC and the additional 246 MW from Cebu Power Corp. in Toledo City, which is set to be online in 2010, should be enough to avert any projected power shortage in the fast-growing Metro Cebu.

Co, however, warned that the additional capacities may not be enough to put up a comfortable power reserve in the grid if the National Power Corp. goes on with its plan to retire its old and inefficient power plants in the CNP grid.

Thursday’s groundbreaking ceremony was attended by Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, Rep. Eduardo R. Gullas, Naga City Mayor Valdemar Chiong, Lee Won-gul, Kepco president and chief executive officer and Korean Ambassador to the Philippines Hong Jong Ki.

THE National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) said China remained keen on funding local projects despite the controversies hounding the now-scrapped national broadband network (NBN) government contract with Chinese company ZTE.

THE Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has suspended its new direct-hiring policy toward overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), apparently because of pressures from recruitment agencies and migrants themselves.

THE International Service for the Acquisition of Agribiotech Applications (ISAAA) challenged the Philippines to take the lead in the production of genetically modified (GM) crops in Asia.

ZAMBOANGA CITY—The Canadian International Development Agency (Cida) has committed to support plans to unleash the full potential of the seaweed industry in the Southern Philippines, specifically in the province of Tawi-Tawi.

POOR sanitation costs the Philippines around P77.8 billion in economic losses, according to a new study commissioned to launch the International Year of Sanitation (IYS) on February 18.

CEBU CITY—The Korean Electric Co. (Kepco)-SPC Power Corp. (KSPC) consortium on Thursday held a groundbreaking ceremony to start the construction of its 200-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant in Naga City, south of Cebu City, while announcing that most of its expected output had already been contracted to distributors.

THE Philippines should be more assertive and creative in international trade, Sen. Edgardo Angara said, adding that the country should not just rely on international institutions and must instead pursue its own bilateral and multilateral trade.