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ABOITIZ
Equity Ventures’ power arm, Aboitiz Power Corp. (APC),
said on Thursday it bought a 34-percent share from
Evonik Industries AG in its Philippines special-purpose
company STEAG State Power Inc.
In a
statement, Aboitiz said Evonik remains the majority
shareholder of STEAG State Power Inc.(SPI), indirectly
holding 55-percent share, and an 11-percent share in the
company is held by the local project partner State
Investment Trust Inc. (SITI).
“We are
continuing our strategy of reducing our shares in our
foreign coal-fired power plants to not less than 51
percent and running the special-purpose companies
jointly with local partners,” said Dr. Alfred Tacke,
member of the executive board of Evonik Industries AG.
Erramon
Aboitiz, APC president and chief executive, said the
investment is very strategic for the company. “Aside
from the expansion potential, the Evonik power plant is
mitigating a shortage in power supply and improving the
reliability of power in
Mindanao,” he added.
Aboitiz
noted that his group has been providing Mindanao power
for over 70 years.
APC’s
distribution utilities in
Mindanao include Davao Light and Power Co., which is the largest
distribution in
Mindanao, and Cotabato Light and Power Co.
APC also
operates a hydro facility in Davao and has investments
in various generation assets in Mindanao, which include
Western Mindanao Power Corp. in Zamboanga and Southern
Philippines Power Corp. in General Santos.
“We are
very committed to Mindanao. Our subsidiary,
Hydroelectric Development Corp. [Hedcor], is also
building a 72-megawatt [MW] run-of-river hydro in
Davao, which should be operational in 2009,” said Aboitiz.
The
Mindanao coal power plant has an installed capacity of
232 MW and generates about 1 billion kilowatt-hours of
power each year, which covers about 15 percent of the
electricity needs of the island, which has some 14
million inhabitants.
The
electricity generated is supplied to the Philippine
state-run National Power Corp. (Napocor) over a period
of 25 years. The Mindanao plant is the third coal-fired
power plant designed, financed, built and operated by
Evonik abroad, after the Termopaipa (Colombia)
and Iskenderun (Turkey) projects.
Early
this year, STEAG AG has already started one-on-one
discussions with prospective investors for the sell-
down of some of its stake in STEAG State Power Inc.
Claus
Peter-Bell, STEAG AG executive vice president, said they
plan to sell 38 percent and keep 51 percent of its stake
in the Mindanao coal power plant in Misamis Oriental.
The
210-MW Mindanao coal power plant, operated by STEAG
State SPI, a joint venture between STEAG AG of Germany
with an 89-percent stake and 11 percent by SITI, will
boost the
Mindanao power grid by 16 percent and will initially secure the
island-region from power-supply shortfalls.
STEAG’s
210-MW Mindanao coal power plant was built under a
build-operate-transfer (BOT) scheme with Napocor and a
cooperation of 25 years. The said power project is the
last BOT project of the government since its
purchase-power agreement was signed on June 27, 1998 and
effected on March 2, 2001—months before the Electric
Power Industry Reform Act was signed on June 8, 2001.
“Our
strategy in our international business is to sell some
of our shares and keep majority cooperation or 51
percent,” said Bell. Though STEAG has already been
having discussions with prospective investors, he said
they plan to start the negotiation process by next year,
adding that STEAG is not in a rush to sell down.
STEAG
has had talks with prospective investors from Japan,
Korea and local investors as well; according to
Bell, they (STEAG) will have to carefully evaluate the
proposals they receive.
Bell, who is also the vice chairman of STEAG State Power
Inc., admitted that they had spoken with some officials
from a local firm, including First Gen Corp. and Korea
Electric Power Corp. |
