San Miguel power unit starts building 600-MW plant in Mindanao

SMC Global Power Holdings Corp., the power unit of diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp., (SMC) started building its 600-megawatt (MW) clean coal-fired power plant in Mindanao.

 

In a statement to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Thursday, SMC president and COO Ramon S. Ang said the facility in Malita, Davao del Sur can help balance the in supply differential between north and south Mindanao and provide reliable and continuous supply of electricity.

 

SMC Global said it broke ground on Wednesday, noting the power plant will have an initial capacity of 150 MW, upgradeable to 600 MW, and is scheduled for completion in 2015.

 

The facility will use locally-sourced coal from SMC-owned mines in Mindanao, which—SMC Global claimed—can help lower cost of electricity once operational.

 

Apart from jobs during the construction phase, the plant will generate “400 full-time jobs for the plant alone,” Ang said.

 

SMC Global is also eyeing power projects in Visayas to meet the region's power supply shortage.

 

The company has an installed capacity of 2,545 MW, and accounts for 17 percent market share in the the national grid and 23 percent in the Luzon grid.

 

Relying on clean coal technology, Ang said the company targets to install 3,000 MW of new capacity. — Danessa Rivera/VS, GMA News