MANILA, Philippines - The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) will spend about P10 billion for its capital expenditure this year, a top company official said.
NGCP president Roque Corpuz told reporters in a press briefing yesterday that they are sticking with the capex budget set by previous management.
Monte Oro Grid Resources Corp. and former NGCP president Walter Brown earlier said they may need to allocate P10 billion for capital expenses every year to sustain and maintain the operations of the country’s transmission highway.
The P10-billion capex is indicated in the country’s Transmission Development Plan (TDP).
Under the TDP, the concessionaire will have to pour in some $850 million for the period 2006-2010.
The crucial component of the 2010 capex budget, Corpuz said, is the Mindanao Loop, the Maramag-Bunawan transmission project in North Cotabato, Abaga-Kirahon transmission project and the Kirahon-Maramag transmission line, which would be completed soon.
Another project lined up this year is the Biñan-Sucat transmission line project which is expected to be completed by August this year.
NGCP assumed the operations and management of the National Transmission Corp. (TransCo) in January 2009.
Since then, it has been implementing numerous repair, upgrade and modernization of Trans-Co’s equipment and facilities.
It was noted that most of the assets that were assumed by NGCP which were supposed to last for 30 years, have been on either deteriorating state or have already bog-ged down at a lifespan of only 10 years.
NGCP, the vehicle used by the consortium composed of State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC), Monte Oro Grid Resources Corp., and Calaca High Power Corp., won the bidding for the 25-year lease agreement of TransCo.
Applying its world-class expertise in transmission management, SGCC is aiming to make the NGCP as number one transmission firm in Southeast Asia.
In 2008, SGCC, China’s leading power transmission and distribution company, recorded sales revenues of $160 billion or a 15.2 percent increase compared to 2007.
Aside from the Philippines, SGCC has overseas operations in other parts of Asia Africa and Europe.