Keppel-Singapore looks into Subic shipyard mishap

The Singaporean head office of the Keppel Subic Shipyard on Sunday announced the creation of a task force to investigate Friday’s shipyard accident in which six workers were killed and six others were seriously wounded.

Mok Kim Whang, Keppel Subic Shipyard president and general manager, said that the task force composed of senior managers, will also try to find ways to enhance safety at the shipyard.

"The (police) investigation is on-going, and we continue to cooperate fully with the authorities in the Philippines,” Whang said in a statement released by its mother-company Keppel Offshore & Marine based in Singapore.

The ship yard has suspended work on a vessel pending the results of investigation.

“We are deeply saddened that one of the seven injured workers had passed away in Our Lady of Lourdes International Medical Center, Olongapo City at around 10.15pm last night,” Whang said. “This brings the total number of fatalities to six,” he said.

The casualties were employees of Keppel Subic Shipyard while two others were under the employ of the yard’s subcontractor Garcia & Rocafor General Services.

The six injured workers are KSS project employees.

Three of the injured are in stable condition while the other three are still in the hospital’s intensive care unit.

Whang said that the company will extend financial assistance to the victims’s families.

Police investigators said that the workers were repairing the MV Tombarra, a 22,650-ton container ship, when a massive steel ramp collapsed and fell on them qaround 10 a.m. Friday.

Subic Mayor Jeffrey Khonghun urged the company to provide full compensation for the workers.

Four of the workers died instantly while a fifth victim was pronounced by doctors as “dead on arrival” at the Lourdes International Medical Hospital in Olongapo City.

Malacañang has also ordered an investigation to determine if the Keppel project complied with occupational health and safety standards. (Manila Standard Today)

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Death toll in Subic shipyard accident rises to 6

SUBIC, Zambales -- Another worker who was injured Friday in an accident inside a Singaporean shipyard in Barangay Cawag Subic Zambales which instantly killed five others died Saturday in the hospital in Olongapo city.

Reports identified the latest fatality as Ronaldo Bagay who lost his leg during the accident and was rushed to a hospital in Olongapo City Friday, the death toll now total to six.

Seven other workers are still in the hospital after being injured in the same accident.

The five other victims were identified as Jaylord Reyes, Ronald Lara, Mark San Juan, Glen Miranda and Crisander Papna.

Subic Mayor Jeffrey Khonghun said the incident happened when a 42-ton steel scaffolding inside the shipyard of Keppel Shipyard Inc. gave way which fell on the workers working bellow.

The accident according to reports happened around 10:20 a.m. at the forward drydock of Keppel in Barangay Cawag in Subic town.

Reports also said that the shipyard operation is now on hold.

Keppel officials have declined to talk to the media regarding the accident. Media and even Mayor Khonghun was not allowed to enter the premises of the shipyard which was posted by several security guards. (Anthony Bayarong, SunStar Pampanga)

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Subic Freeport hosts Rotaract regional conference

The Subic Bay Freeport played host to hundreds of Rotaractors from countries in the Asia-Pacific region during the 8th Asia Pacific Regional Rotaract Conference (APRRC) held from September 29 to October 2.

Rotaract delegates from Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Japan, Bangladesh and host country Philippines participated in various lecture and workshop fora that were held here during the four-day conference.

The visitors received a warm welcome from Filipino hosts in the opening ceremonies at the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center (SBECC), where they were treated with a special dance performance by students from the Olongapo City National High School-Special Program for the Arts.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) chairman Roberto Garcia, who greeted the Rotaractors during the opening program, said the visitors somewhat brightened Subic despite the stormy weather in the past week.

“Thank you for bringing a part of the good weather. It’s a beautiful day outside,” he said, referring to the sunny weather during the opening ceremonies.

Garcia mentioned that he used to be an active member of the Rotary Club of Green Meadows in Quezon City, and then proceeded to welcome the delegates to the “most beautiful freeport in the Philippines.”

Garcia also briefed the foreign delegates on the history of Subic Bay and how it became the top economic hub in the Philippines, before inviting them to visit tourist attractions in Subic.

“A large part of our work here is to develop Subic into a premier tourist facility and destination. If you have time, please visit our theme parks. These are visited by hundreds of thousands of visitors every year,” Garcia said. “I hope your tight schedule will allow you time to go around and see what Subic has to offer.”

Host district governor Digna Ragasa, meanwhile, reiterated the importance of serving others by highlighting the conference theme “Touching Communities, Serving Humanity.”

“What the world needs today are young men and women like you, who are able and willing to put the justice and love of the Divine Providence into action,” Ragasa said.

“Touch communities, touch lives, and serve humanity. But you can only do that if you are able to commit yourselves, if you will be able to take your part, and see for yourselves what you can do to the world,” she added.

The APRRC was founded in 2004 and became an annual event among Rotaractors from all over the region. The conference aims to unite all Rotaractors from the region and equip them with new ideas and knowledge that will be useful in developing their personality and skills as future leaders of the society.

The previous conference was held in Singapore.

The Rotaract is a Rotary-sponsored service club for young men and women ages 18 to 30. Rotaract clubs are either community- or university-based, and they’re sponsored by a local Rotary club. This makes them true "partners in service" and key members of the family of Rotary. (SBMA Corporate Communications)

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SBMA rescuers assist in clearing operations after “Pedring”

“There is no time to rest while our stakeholders are in need of our assistance.”

This was the message imparted by Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) fire chief Ranny Magno, as his team continued to help in clearing operations in communities badly affected by Typhoon Pedring, which pounded Luzon, including the Subic Bay Freeport area on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Magno said the SBMA Emergency and Rescue Team (ERT) were mobilized as local officials from nearby communities requested for SBMA’s help in removing fallen trees that blocked the road, or leaned on houses and other structures.

Most of the problem consisted of fallen trees that damaged power lines, thus resulting to power outages in Olongapo City and other areas, Magno noted.

SBMA Chairman Roberto Garcia, who was monitoring updates at the height of the typhoon, immediately instructed Magno and his men to respond to the requests for assistance.

Thereafter, SBMA ERT teams were deployed to Olongapo, Subic in Zambales, and the Roman Highway in Bataan. A team was also sent to Calumpit, Bulacan, early this morning to assist residents there who were still trapped on their rooftops.

“Each team was equipped with its own vehicle, and two chainsaws to speed up the work,” said Magno, while supervising the removal of a mango tree that fell on the roof of a house at Barangay Wawandue in Subic, Zambales last Tuesday.

Meanwhile, another SBMA team cleared fallen trees near the Marikit Bridge in Olongapo City, which cut the main power service line, resulting in the power outage in at least four barangays in the city.

Still another team cleared fallen trees that endangered motorists and slowed down traffic at the Roman Highway.

“Our operators barely had time to rest,” Magno said, pointing out that clearing operations were needed immediately to restore power in the affected areas at the soonest possible time.

The SBMA team that were mobilized formed part of the SBMA Emergency and Rescue Team that was a recipient of the 2009 Gawad Kalasag Award for its extraordinary courage, heroism, self-sacrifice, and bravery against all odds in times of emergencies and disasters. The citation was given for the SBMA ERT’s role in recovering and retrieving trapped miners at Itogon, Benguet in September 2008.

In January this year, Magno also received for the SBMA ERT the 2010 Kalasag Award for being the best disaster manager in the country. (SBMA Corporate Communications)

PHOTO:
Members of the SBMA Emergency and Rescue Team help local government units in clearing operations in the aftermath of Typhoon Pedring.

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SBMA to implement stricter measures on environmentally sensitive projects

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) will be implementing stricter measures and standards to further safeguard the natural environment of the Subic Bay Freeport from pollution.

SBMA Chairman Roberto Garcia said that the action aims to ensure that all projects, which are going to be put up or located inside the free port zone, particularly environmentally sensitive projects (ESPs), are acceptable to various stakeholders.

ESPs are projects that are determined to emit pollutants, which may have a potential impact on the natural resources, and the health of the people living or working in the area.

These pollutants include emissions, effluents, sound or visual from the proposed project that may deteriorate the health of the people, the forests and the animals living there, the bay waters, creeks, ground water and air, among others.

Garcia noted that the SBMA recognizes that the Freeport’s natural state far exceeds the quality of the national average, and therefore the agency may issue stricter environmental standards to satisfy the interests of the stakeholders.

The law that created the Freeport and the SBMA mandates the latter to protect, maintain, and develop the virgin forests into a national park by implementing the rules and regulation of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

The issuance of stricter standards, through the implementation of a policy on ESPs, will help the SBMA in realizing its mandates of protecting and preserving the environment.

“Through a board resolution, the SBMA Board of Directors will declare whether or not the project is environmentally sensitive, or is in compliance with the parameters as determined to be within the acceptable levels of emissions,” Garcia said.

Under this system, if the proposed project is considered an ESP, the SBMA Ecology Center will independently verify all of the project pollutants, the natural resource impacts, and extent of the proponent’s mitigating measures. All data gathered will be presented to the SBMA Board.

Stakeholder groups, consisting of representatives or officers of housing areas, Freeport workers’ associations, and the indigenous people’s tribal council will be invited to public consultations on ESPs where inputs about the results of the verification process will be presented.

Based on the evaluation “of the totality of acceptability ratings from the various stakeholders of the Freeport,” the SBMA Board shall declare whether or not the project is socially acceptable.

In any case where the project is declared not socially acceptable, the proponents will be advised to redesign the project or its mitigating measures to meet a level acceptable to stakeholders. Meanwhile, its permit to operate will be withheld.

“This way, the stakeholders are given a sense of participation in truly preserving the unique environmental feature of the Freeport, which is one of the major attractions of Subic’s tourism industry,” Garcia said. (SBMA Corporate Communications)

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SBMA, Lighthouse Marina gear up for coastal cleanup

In keeping with their commitment for the protection of the environment, The Lighthouse Marina Resort in coordination with the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) will be mobilizing their networks in the community for a coastal cleanup activity on September 17.

The event, which will coincide with this year’s International Coastal Cleanup Day, will be held at the Waterfront area in this free port.

The Lighthouse Marina Resort and the SBMA have partnered in the past few years for beach cleanup drives in an effort to promote environmental consciousness among residents and business locators here.

For this year, the SBMA will again mobilize participants from among its various strategic business units, said SBMA Administrator Armand Arreza. The agency has pledged at least 200 participants, including divers, to cover the SBMA-assigned area, stretching more than two kilometers from Alava Pier to the end of the Boardwalk Park.

Also part of the SBMA's commitment to the activity is to assist the organizers through its Ecology Department in the segregation of collected trash and proper data recording.
The agency will likewise urge employees from business locators, as well as students in Freeport schools and fisher folks to join the activity, Arreza added.

Organizers from The Lighthouse Marina Resort, meanwhile, said that those who would like to join the beach cleanup will need to register before September 15. Registration is free.

Participants will have to assemble at 6:00 a.m. at the Boardwalk Park area and form groups of five before going to the stations that will be designated by the organizers.

The cleanup drive will cover the area stretching from Boardwalk Park up to the Lighthouse beachfront.

The International Coastal Cleanup Day was started in 1986 in Texas by former Ocean Conservancy employee Linda Maraniss. It is being observed every third Saturday of September each year, with thousands of volunteers around the world joining to clean coastlines and seas.

During the cleanup at Subic last year, close to 4,000 residents, employees, students and visitors joined the activity and collected about 6,075 kilos of trash, including those collected from underwater dives.

This year’s event is supported by the Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce, the International Yachting Fellowship of Rotarians, and the Ocean Conservancy, a non profit advocacy group that promotes healthy and diverse ecosystems. (SBMA Corporate Communications)

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Freeport firms want box underguard, bond retained

Locators in the Clark and Subic freeport zones say they support the Bureau of Customs’ use of electronic global positioning system or GPS-equipped barrier seals to track cargoes, but want the use of underguarding and the general transportation surety bond (GTSB) retained as alternatives.

The barrier seal project should have been put in place this month but is being delayed until a new BOC commissioner has been appointed.

The barrier seal is designed to replace underguarding and GTSB in monitoring transit cargoes, as well as to alert police on unauthorized opening of container doors.

Customs Administrative Order 4-2010 requires cargo owners to equip their cargoes with the barrier seal to allow officials to track and monitor cargoes from the time they leave customs territory up to their arrival at the destination.

The order also provides for the collection of a transit processing fee of P1,100 for containerized cargo, P400 for breakbulk cargo and a $5 container security fee that will be charged to cargo owners on top of the fee to be collected by the service provider.

"As far as Subic and Clark are concerned, the only issue to be resolved for the project to push through is that the locators be given a choice to use either GPS, GTSB or underguard," Clark GPS-equipped barrier seal consultant Roberto Domondon said.

Many locators want to get the GPS-enabled tracking system so they can go online, yet they need alternatives depending on their type of business.

They also complain about the cost and that the incoming commissioner would study their position.

"We are not yet sure if the new commissioner will push through with the project considering that there are sectors that oppose it," Domondon said.

Under incumbent Customs Commissioner Angelito Alvarez, Domondon has been keen on imposing the tracking system at the start of September using the graduated fee of P700 per container for cargoes bound for areas within 20 kilometers of the port.

Cargoes for delivery beyond Edsa would be charged P1,500 per container while those transported through the North and South Luzon Expressways would be charged P2,200 per container.

The project has been put on hold since President Aquino’s announcement that a new customs commissioner will report for work starting on September 16.

Locators expect that the new BOC leadership will retain the underguarding and GTSB that cost about P300 per container.

Société Generale de Surveillance (SGS) is the GPS service provider, having bested other bidders such as Cotecna and local firm Tim Corp. (Genivi Factao, Malaya)

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Asian port officials to attend 2nd ACTA meeting in Subic

Officials from different cruise-ship terminals in Asia, including the biggest port in the world, will be coming to the Subic Bay Freeport on Thursday (September 1) to attend the second Pro-Tem committee meeting of the Asia Cruise Terminals Association (ACTA).

Representatives from the International Cruise Terminal Development Co., Ltd., which oversees Shanghai Wu Song Kou port, currently the world’s largest port, will be joined by delegates from Singapore, Japan and Malaysia during the committee meeting.

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), which is a founding member of ACTA, will be represented by Raul Marcelo, the agency’s deputy administrator for business, and Capt. Perfecto Pascual, who is general manager of the SBMA Seaport Department.

Marcelo said the meeting will be held in preparation for ACTA’s formal launch this October.

The Pro-Tem committee, he explained, acts as an interim committee which oversees ACTA before its formal launch.

“The Subic meeting will also serve as a venue for the validation and ratification of the ACTA constitution and by-laws, which was discussed during the first Pro-Tem meeting in Singapore,” added Marcelo, who was there to represent Subic along with Pascual.

ACTA is a non-profit organization created in response to a need for common understanding among owners and operators of cruise terminals and ports across Asia to upgrade to an international level of services and operations that cruise lines expect.

The association aims to provide for a cruise-friendly environment, and a vehicle for regional cooperation in terminal development, operations and management.

The group also seeks to promote cruise terminal facilities and services internationally, targeting to establish an influential alliance leading to the emergence of a captivating Asia cruise playground.

Marcelo said that as part of SBMA’s thrust to make Subic Bay a prime logistics, maritime and tourist hub, the agency will facilitate the development of Subic as a cruise-ship destination by being an active member of ACTA. (SBMA Corporate Communications)

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BOC seeks LTO help in locating Subic car

MANILA - The Bureau of Customs (BOC) is seeking the assistance of Land Transportation Office (LTO) chief Assistant Secretary Virginia Torres in tracking down close to 2,000 imported vehicles that have reportedly gone missing.

Customs Commissioner Angelito Alvarez said a recent audit conducted by his office on locators at the Subic Bay Special Economic and Freeport Zone showed that there were 1,866 vehicles that were not accounted for.

“We have reasons to believe that many have been registered with the LTO. We are closely coordinating with the LTO so if they were registered, we would make sure that their registration would no longer be renewed,” Alvarez said.

He also threatened to seize the vehicles identified to have been illegally brought out of the Subic Freeport.

It appeared that the vehicles entered the country sometime in October 2007. At that time, Subic-based locators enjoyed the privilege of being exempted from paying duties and taxes for imported vehicles, provided that these would be used for their businesses.

Reports circulated then that some of the cars were illegally being sold outside the Subic area and the Supreme Court put a stop to this practice.

“So what happened was that there were thousands of cars, over 2,000, that could not be released if they could not pay the duties and taxes. So an inventory was conducted to establish the accountability of every locator,” Alvarez said.

“It turned out that 1,866 cannot be accounted for so they are either exported, which is allowed, or registered with the LTO which is within the Customs territory. So we are coordinating with the LTO to ensure that if these were registered,” he added.

He said the BOC could trace the missing vehicles by checking their chassis and engine numbers.

Alvarez said they would also check if fake documents were used in registering the vehicles with the LTO.

In registering the vehicles, their owners would have to present a certificate of payment proving that correct duties and taxes were paid. If fake documents were used, Alvarez said the car owners could face another case of falsification of public documents.

Alvarez got a copy of the inventory report only two days ago and he immediately coordinated with Torres, who he said has been “very supportive of all our initiatives.” (Evelyn Macairan, The Philippine Star)

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Seven Subic fishers rescued, two missing after sea collision

Seven fishermen were rescued Wednesday morning while two remained missing after a Subic-based fishing vessel collided with a cargo ship off the coast of Zambales at around 3:30 p.m. last Sunday, August 7.

The fishermen were picked up by the cargo vessel M/V Izumi at around 6:00 a.m. Wednesday and then transferred to the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) vessel M/V Redondo, which brought them to the SBMA Dispensary for treatment.

The fishermen, all from barangay Calapandayan, Subic, Zambales, were found holding onto floating pieces of their vessel about 112 miles west of Subic, near the Scarborough Shoal, rescuers said.

They were identified as Benito Otero, 56; Joel Otero, 47; Ricardo Castorico, 28; Roberto Alvior, 38; Vidal Radasa, 56; Salih Alipido, 42; and Ronilo Lebios, 29.

Those missing were identified only as as Arnel, 46, and Teteng, 40.

Two of the survivors, Alipido and Lebios, were injured in the collision.

According to Benito Otero, who owns the ill-fated fishing vessel Tres Marias, they have been floating at sea for four days before being rescued.

Otero also said that heavy rains last Sunday made for poor visibility, thus they did not see the ship in time to avoid it.

“Talagang ulan po. ‘Di makita, talagang malakas ‘yung ulan. Nakita namin ‘yung barko malapit na (It was raining. We can’t see anything, it was raining hard. We only saw the ship when it was already near our boat),” Otero said.

Otero likewise claimed that they failed to avoid the ship because of problems with steering.

The survivors said that their boat split into two after the cargo ship hit it. Thereafter, the fishermen clung to pieces of the wreckage in order to keep afloat.

However, two men in their crew disappeared in the water after the accident and were never found until the boat crew were rescued on Wednesday.

Otero recalled that they have already been fishing for four days and had sufficient catch when they met the accident on Sunday.

He said that after the mishap, the cargo ship that collided with them merely sailed on.

Otero said they failed to identify the ship also because of poor visibility. (SBMA Corporate Communications)

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Developers to raise P39-billion loan for Subic coal project

MANILA — The project developers of the 600-megawatt Subic coal-fired power facility are preparing for loan procurement of P39 billion to bankroll the significant portion of the facility’s implementation cost.

The 70 percent debt portion of the project cost, they said, will be raised on a project finance basis. The project sponsors will be led by Meralco PowerGen Corporation, the power generation unit of Manila Electric Company (Meralco); Therma Power Inc. of the Aboitiz group and Taiwan Cogeneration Corporation.

In a briefing with reporters, Meralco PowerGen executive vice president Aaron A. Domingo disclosed that the project financing will be raised entirely from a syndicate of local banks.

“The structuring of the peso financing and selection of mandated lead arrangers are ongoing,” he said.

Meralco’s equity portion for its more than 50 percent interest in the venture will amount to P8.0 billion to P9.0 billion. Domingo said that will be infused separately through the backing of its parent firm.

From its initial foray into the 600-megawatt coal plant, Meralco is preparing for a grander venture into the power generation sector. In fact, from the 1,500 megawatts of portfolio it has initially cast on blueprint, the company is now looking at increasing that to 1,800 to 2,400 megawatts – the development timelines, of course, will depend on electricity demand expansion.

Moving forward from the signing of a shareholders’ agreement for the Subic facility last week, Domingo disclosed that they are now working next on the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract.

“We are preparing for full EPC contracting strategy with major equipment (boiler and steam turbine generator) suppliers for the bidding and selection by end of December 2011,” he said.

He added that they have already sent request for proposals (RFPs) to three EPC contractors; and also solicited tenders from original equipment manufacturers (OEM) of boilers and turbines.

Based on targets set by the project sponsors, the first unit of 300 megawatts will be on-line fourth quarter of 2014; while the next unit of the same capacity will be on stream six months after. (Myrna M. Velasco, Manila Bulletin)

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Meralco acquires 52% share of Subic coal plant

Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), the country’s largest distributor of electrical power, marked its reentry into the power-generation industry on Friday by acquiring a controlling interest in the $1.28-billion coal-fired thermal power-plant project slated for construction at Subic’s Redondo Peninsula.

The power firm, which previously sold to the National Power Corp. all the power plants it had built since it was organized in 1903, successfully forged a deal with AboitizPower and Taiwan Cogeneration Corp. (TCC), the original partners in the Redondo Peninsula Energy Inc. (RP Energy), which has the development rights to develop the 600-megawatt coal-fired power plant.

Under a shareholders’ agreement signed on Friday by the three parties, Meralco’s subsidiary Meralco PowerGen Corp. (MPGC) became the controlling shareholder of RP Energy with 50 percent plus two shares, while AboitizPower subsidiary Therma Power Inc. (TPI) and TCC subsidiary Taiwan Cogeneration International Corp. Philippines (TCIC) held an equal proportion of the remaining shares.

The agreement was signed by MPGC president Oscar Reyes, MPGC executive vice president and general manager Aaron Domingo, TPI president Antonio Moraza, TCIC director Brian Hsu, and RP Energy president Erramon Aboitiz.

Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras witnessed the signing at the Lighthouse Marina Resort here.

Meralco’s reentry into power generation, Reyes pointed out, came almost 40 years after Meralco relinquished its power-generation operations and 20 years after power generation was reopened to the private sector amid the crippling power crisis in the late 1980s.

But with the Aboitiz Group and Taiwan Cogeneration Co., Meralco is “making a strong statement and vote of confidence in our country and in our economy and a strong commitment to growth and progress,” Reyes said.

He added that Meralco is “well-positioned” and aims “to be part of an integrated solution” in meeting the crucial need for new technologically-advanced and cost-efficient generation capacity.

Reyes also extolled Subic both as a “major investment destination and a strategic site for business” and an important player in the energy industry by hosting the strategic 5-million barrel Subic-Clark liquid fuel-storage depot.

“With RP Energy’s 2x300 megawatt power facility, the [Subic Bay Freeport] Zone will again play a strategic role in helping meet 8 percent of the entire Luzon grid’s power needs,” he said.

The Meralco official stated that the Subic power project would need the continuing full support and goodwill of the Department of Energy, the national and the local governments, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority as well as local communities.

Erramon Aboitiz, meanwhile, reaffirmed RP energy’s commitment in providing competitively-priced power without damaging the environment.

He stressed that the proponents have specified the use of circulating fluidized bed boilers in the power plant. This kind of boiler removes sulfur oxide and controls the burning temperature of the coal to prevent the formation of nitrous oxides, lower air emissions, and make the plant environment-friendly, he said.

Aboitiz also cited the advantages of taking in MPGC as a partner.

“Being the country’s largest utility serving the equivalent of more than half the nation’s GDP [gross domestic product], Meralco is without a doubt the ideal conduit to deliver the cost advantage of RP Energy to as many households and businesses as possible,” he said.

The Subic coal-fired thermal power project is projected to be completed with a total budget of $1.28 billion. It will consist of two 300-megawatt units that will be constructed in two phases.

The first unit is expected to be commercially operational by the first quarter of 2015, while the second unit is expected to be completed by the second quarter of the same year. (Henry Empeño w/ Paul Anthony Isla, Business Mirror)

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$1.28B earmarked for Subic coal plant

Three energy companies signed a memorandum of agreement to put up a US$ 1.28 billion 600-megawatt (MW) coal power plant in Subic, Friday.

Meralco, Aboitiz Power and Taiwan Cogen signed the agreement to build the plant in Redondo inside Subic Bay Freeport zone.

Erramon Aboitiz said that the project aims to generate competitive priced power with least possible adverse effects on the environment.

He added that the project would become the source of competitive priced baseload power for Subic Bay Freeport and for the entire Luzon grid.

Aboitiz said the consortium has opted to use Circulating Fluidized Bed Boilers that remove sulfur oxide and control the burning temperature of coal to prevent formation of nitrous oxides that lower air emissions.

First phase of the project will be completed in 2014 while the second and final phase will be finished in 2016. (Anthony Bayarong, Manila Times)

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SCTEx placed under new management

MANILA — The Manila North Tollways Corp. (MNTC) Friday took over the operation and management of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx) to pave the way for the integration of the two longest expressways in Northern Luzon — SCTEx and North Luzon Expressway (NLEx).

This, after the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) signed Wednesday a “business and operating agreement” with the MNTC to finally forge the deal on SCTEx.

“Motorists will soon enjoy the benefits of integration in the form of seamless travel between the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) and the SCTEx,” said BCDA and MNTC in a statement. MNTC also operates the NLEx.

Under the agreement, MNTC will operate and manage SCTEx for 33 years, while “relieving BCDA of the heavy financial burden of paying the latter’s P34-billion debt to the JICA.”

The MNTC said that the deal paves the way for the company to provide the best services to motorists using SCTEx at par with the high standards applied on the NLEx.

The agreement for the private management and operations of the STEx, funded from a P34-million loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), will take effect in the next 33 years.

Under the deal, the MNTC will assist the SCTEx in paying for the JICA loan that will mature in 2041. This will be done by providing the SCTEx with funds to repay its JICA loan through revenue sharing and agreed-on advances during shortfalls.

"The agreement is our contribution to the public-private partnership program. We see it as innovative because it frees the government of the heavy debt-servicing burden. In other words, by virtue of this agreement, we can say the SCTEx was built at no cost for the government," BCDA chairman Felicito Payumo said.

Payumo said the pact “also assures the MNTC of a reasonable return to cover commercial risks as SCTEx’s co-concessionaire. The agreement satisfies BCDA’s requirement to cover the state firm’s debt service obligation to JICA.”

The statement also quoted MNTC chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan as saying that “the contract is truly reflective of the intentions and spirit of the partnership from the beginning.”

“MNTC’s takeover of the SCTEx signals the advent of a new era in comfortable and safe travel offered by a seamless traffic along the NLEx as strategically linked to the SCTEx that both meet world-class standards,” Pangilinan said.

BCDA president and CEO Arnel Casanova said the agreement represents a fusion of the strengths of the two partners that would ensure maximum benefits to the public and the country. “The agreement is a major breakthrough towards establishing a good model for public-private partnership.”

He explained that as SCTEx’s co-concessionaire, the MNTC will manage the entire operations and supervision of the tollway, linking Subic Freeport Zone in Zambales, Clark Special Economic Zone in Pampanga, and the Central Techno Park in Tarlac.

Under the agreement, MNTC will provide ancillary facilities and equipment, plus resources needed to run SCTEx efficiently, including assuring security and safety for motorists on the tollway round the clock. (Mark Anthony N. Manuel, Manila Bulletin)

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Meralco ready to sign supply contract for Subic coal plant

Utility giant Manila Electric Company (Meralco) is ready to ink a power purchase agreement (PPA) which may cover the entire capacity of the $1.28 billion Subic coal-fired power facility of 600 megawatts that will be due on stream by the first half of 2014.

“We should be able to accommodate the 600MW, but it is a function of what price… and there are also other interested parties,” Meralco senior executive vice president Oscar S. Reyes said.

With the signing of the Shareholders Agreement among project sponsors on Friday, the utility firm’s subsidiary Meralco PowerGen (MPG) officially became the majority shareholder in Redondo Peninsula Energy (RP Energy), with more than 50 percent equity. RP Energy is the corporate vehicle for the project.

Aboitiz Power’s wholly-owned subsidiary Therma Power Inc. and another partner Taiwan Cogeneration Corporation cornered the remaining shareholdings.

“With highly respected and well-established local and business partners, Meralco now signals its re-entry into power generation, nearly 40 years after relinquishing its power generation operations and 20 years after the ‘welcome mat’ had been laid out for private sector participation in power generation,” Reyes said.

The intent of the project developers would be mainly to offer the capacity of the baseload coal-fired plant as a cost-competitive source of power – be it for end-users already qualified under open access or those which will remain captive, mainly the residential end-users.

With Meralco’s interest in the project, it will also shoulder more than 50-percent of the equity cost portion. The 70-percent of the total project cost will be infused through project financing.

During the signing of the shareholders’ deal, several banks interested at offering financing were already hovering around the venue – including BDO Capital, RCBC, Philippine National Bank, PNB Capital, Bank of the Philippine Islands and First Metro Investment Corporation, among others.

For his part, Aboitiz Power president Erramon I. Aboitiz noted that the coal plant’s project design has been re-evaluated when Meralco came into the picture as their partner.

“As we initiated discussions with Meralco PowerGen, the configuration of the power stations was rethought again, this time using two 300-MW generating units with reheating capabilities,” Aboitiz said. (Myrna M. Velasco, Manila Bulletin)

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