PHL gives P62B worth of power projects the green light 

Two power projects to address the Philippine energy shortfall were approved this week by the Board of Investments, Trade Undersecretary and BOI managing head Adrian Cristobal said Friday.

 

The projects worth P62.32 billion would be built in Batangas and Zambales, Cristobal told reporters in a briefing.

 

One is the P12.87-billion South Luzon Thermal Energy Corp. power plant in Calaca, Batangas, and the other is Masinloc Power Partners Co. Ltd.’s P49.45-billion expansion project in Masinloc, Zambales.

 

"The two projects will help address the country's energy supply requirements,” the trade and investments official said, noting “the BOI’s goal is to ensure that approved investment projects contribute to long-term inclusive economic growth."

 

The South Luzon Thermal’s power plant would use clean coal technology that includes a 135-megawatt (MW) coal-fired facility that should start commercial operations in August 2014. 

 

Masinloc Power Partners, meanwhile, would build two 300-MW units to boost its total plant capacity to 1,200 MW. 

 

These projects are aligned with government’s 2011 Investment Priorities Plan to attract investments in key industries and achieve inclusive growth, said Cristobal.

 

The BoI earlier approved the P1.4-billion agribusiness project of Thai conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Foods Philippines Corp. in Pampanga and Tarlac, which would include raising hog parent stock.

 

According to the BOI chief, the board is now reviewing the procedures investors go through in registering with the agency with a view making the process as simple as possible by lowering the number of required data items to 14 from 52.

 

The current process "partly contributed" to low approvals in the first quarter of 2012, he said, noting that applicants find the data gathering quite tedious and gave them second thoughts about pursuing the registration.

 

"Currently, we are pilot-testing the simplified procedures in three sectors, namely agribusiness, housing, and tourism," Cristobal said, noting these sectors are less complicated than the other sectors.

 

With the simplified procedure in place, BOI "sees an increase in the number of project approvals from April onwards," according to him. —VS, GMA News