Marubeni Corp. of Japan is set to become the third partner in the 2×350-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant partnership of Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) and Meralco PowerGen Corp. (MGen).
SMPC chairman and CEO Isidro Consunji said Marubeni is only waiting for the head office clearance before taking on a 20-percent equity in the project.
Asked why the Japanese firm was chosen, the company official said Marubeni is already familiar with the country’s power industry and has shown serious interest in the project.
The three companies signed an agreement in April and requested for six month before forming a consortium. Marubeni asked for 90 more days to finalize its entry.
Semirara and MGen are still finalizing the plant’s details to determine the final cost of the plant. It is currently estimated to cost $1.4 billion.
The project company, St. Raphael Power Generation Corp. will use subcritical pulverized coal technology which will allow it to utilize the coal produced by SMPC’s mine pits.
However, St. Raphael will still need the Energy Regulatory Commission’s approval before beginning construction.
“We still have to wait for the ERC permit on our PSA (power supply agreement) and its permit on NGCP (National Grid Corp. of the Philippines) to put up a transmission line,” Consunji said.
