Alson earmarks P6 billion for hydro projects

MANILA, Philippines — Alsons Consolidated Resources Inc. (ACR), the power holding company of the Alcantara Group, is spending P6 billion for its three hydropower projects, marking the group’s transition to renewables.

During the company’s virtual annual stockholders’ meeting yesterday, ACR vice president and group CFO Alexander Benhur Simon said the estimated capital expenditure (capex) for the three hydropower projects is around P6 billion.

These projects are the 14.5-MW Siguil hydroelectric power plant in Sarangani, the 21-MW Siayan (Sindangan) hydropower plant in Zamboanga del Norte and the 42-MW Bago hydropower plant in Negros Occidental.

“As our previous strategy of funding these projects, we shall be funding them through a combination of project finance as well as internally generated funds,” Simon said.

The Siguil hydro power plant, which is the first of the eight hydropower facilities that ACR plans to develop, started construction in late 2019.

Originally scheduled to be completed this year, the company has pushed back its completion to May next year due to challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, ACR executive vice president Tirso Santillan Jr. said.

“Construction phase of our first hydro plant, Siguil Hydro Corp., encountered some delays last year due to challenges brought about by the pandemic. Construction is now going full swing,” he said.

Once completed, the Siguil project will supply power to the provinces of Sarangani and South Cotabato, General Santos City, and other areas in the Mindanao grid.

ACR is also working on the 21-MW hydro project in the Sindangan river in Zamboanga del Norte and the 42-MW hydro along the Bago River in Negros Occidental, which are “both at advance stages of project development,” ACR deputy CEO Antonio Alcantara said.

Apart from the eight hydropower projects in its pipeline, ACR is also pursuing solar power development to expand its renewables portfolio.

“We are also aggressively developing suitable sites to harness solar energy. (We see) promising sites with highest irradiance levels in the Philippines,” Alcantara said.

Its renewables portfolio will help the company take advantage of the government’s new renewable energy programs and the impending connection of the Visayas and Mindanao grids.