5 foreign firms keen on EPC contract for Alsons’ coal-fired power plant

THE ALCANTARA’S 105-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant in Zamboanga City has attracted proposals from five global companies, including three from China, that are keen to handle the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) component of the project.

In a statement on Wednesday, the power group of Alsons Consolidated Resources, Inc. (ACR) identified the companies as Dongfang Electric International Corp.; Jurong Engineering Ltd.; Northeast No. 1 Electric Power Construction Co., Ltd. (NEPC 1); Shandong Electric Power Construction Co.; and ThyssenKrupp Industries India Pvt. Ltd.

Archimedes B. Donato, project manager of the proposed power plant San Ramon Power, Inc. (SRPI), said he was satisfied with the proposals submitted by the five “reputable firms” with extensive international experience.

“The people of Zamboanga City and nearby areas can look forward to a state-of-the-art baseload power plant right here in the city to provide safe, reliable and affordable electricity,” he said.

The Alsons group described Dongfang as based in Chengdu, while NEPC 1 is a wholly owned subsidiary of China Energy Engineering Group; and Shandong is a unit of Power Construction Corporation of China.

It said Jurong is based in Singapore while ThyssenKrupp, a unit of Germany’s ThyssenKrupp AG, is based in Pune, India.

Joseph C. Nocos, Alsons’ vicepresident for project development, said the group is committed to bring the project to completion.

“These bid submissions are a testimony to the keen interest the SRPI project has generated and are a vote of confidence to the future of Zamboanga City,” he said.

Alsons described its power group as “Mindanao’s first and most experienced independent power producer.” It operates four power facilities in the island with a total generating capacity of 363 MW. They serve cities such as Cagayan de Oro, Davao, Iligan, General Santos and Zamboanga.

Alsons’ power group is also entering the renewable energy sphere through run-of-river hydroelectric power projects with a total capacity potential of more than 145 MW. These projects are in Negros Occidental, Sarangani, Davao Oriental, Zamboanga del Norte, the two Agusan provinces, and Surigao del Sur. —