Palm Concepcion taps contractors for Iloilo plant

MANILA, Philippines - Palm Concepcion Power Corp., a joint venture between Palm Thermal Holdings Corp. of A. Brown Co. Inc. and Jin Navitas Resource of the Rebisco Group, has tapped a consortium for the construction of its 135-megawatt state-of-the-art coal-fired power plant project in Concepcion, Iloilo.

Palm Concepcion tapped NLSC, a consortium of First Northeast Electric Power Engineering Corp. of China, Liaoning Electric Power Survey & Design Institute and Shenyang Electric Power Design Institute Co. Ltd. as contractor for the project.

The company also tapped Alstom Power as supplier of its steam turbine and generator for the project.

Palm Concepcion is aiming to complete the project in early 2016 in time for the additional power supply requirements of the Visayas region.

“We’d like to assure our customers that we will deliver this project as committed because we understand the power situation and the power capacities needed by the time the Concepcion plant is operational, in order to support the economic activities in Panay, Negros and the whole of Visayas,” Palm Concepcion chairman Walter Brown said.

The company is in talks with electric cooperatives in Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental to update them on the 2016 completion of the project.

Palm Concepcion president Roel Castro said customers in Negros can look forward to better power supply by 2016.

He said the customers were all out to support this project especially now that the construction will be starting in the coming weeks.

Palm Concepcion is expected to issue a notice to proceed to the contractor on June 7.

The Concepcion project is a 2x135-MW power generation plant starting with one unit of 135 MW utilizing coal as primary fuel and using circulating fluidized bed combustion (CFBC) technology.

In March, the company signed a coal supply contract with PT. Pevensey Indonesia to ensure its coal requirements for the power generation facility.

PT. Pevensey is a Jakarta-based company, which markets coal, iron ore and carbon products to power plants in China, India and the Philippines.