|
HOPING
to seal the deal and take over the operations of the
600-megawatt (MW) Calaca coal-fired power plant acquired
from the government, the consortium of Suez-Tractebel SA
has indicated it plans to finalize the acquisition even
before the deadline set by the Power Sector Assets and
Liabilities Management Corp. (Psalm).
A
source, privy to the issue told the BusinessMirror they
(Suez) have indicated plans to go ahead of schedule and
take over the operations of the plant.
The
source, who requested anonymity, said Psalm gave Suez
until August to close the deal. In October last year,
Suez won the bidding for the Calaca power plant after
offering $786.53 million to purchase the plant.
“Amid
their indications, we still don’t know if they would pay
the full amount or at least the minimum by the time they
finalize the transaction,” the source said, further
noting that there’s no pressure for Suez to pay either
in full or even just the minimum.
“Given
the precedent of AES Philippines Corp., which paid the
full $930-million amount for the 600-MW Masinloc
coal-fired power plant, Psalm would like to think that
Suez would also pay the full amount of $786.53 million,”
the source said.
Proceeds
from the privatization of the National Power Corp.’s (Napocor)
assets are programmed to finance the prepayment of its
loans.
Suez
earlier said it will work on paying the full amount for
the acquisition. It added that it has negotiated with
various creditors for the purchase, including the
International Finance Corp. for $300 million and the
Asian Development Bank for $200 million.
The
Calaca facility has been allocated a substantial 287-MW
power-supply contract, or about 48 percent of the
plant’s rated capacity, of which Manila Electric Co.
will assume the biggest portion of the contracted energy
equivalent to 169 MW.
The
transition-supply contract was attached to provide the
new owner a ready market for the electricity that the
power plant will generate. |
