SMC to pursue Laiban Dam project

San Miguel Corp. remains interested in the waterrich Laiban Dam project in Tanay, Rizal, a high ranking company official said.

“We have always been and will always be interested (in the Laiban Dam),” said SMC Global Power Holdings Corp. president and COO Alan Ortiz in a recent forum on the country’s power situation.

He said the Laiban Dam is a rich source of water that could meet the requirements of new power plants and help augment water supply in Luzon.

“You need water for every new power plant,” said Ortiz, former president of the National Transmission Co. (Transco), the entity that owns the company’s transmission assets.

However, Ortiz lamented that the project remains stuck in the bureaucracy for the last 35 years.

“There’s eight billion liters of water and all eight billion go back to the Pacific Ocean,” Ortiz said.

He estimates that the Laiban Dam could power up to 800 megawatts.

“This is the only remaining massive bulk water system for Luzon. This is very large and it’s waiting to be exploited properly for irrigation, bulk water, pump storage and power generation. It’s there. In our estimate, it has 800 MW in power generation capability, which is waiting to be tapped,” he said.

SMC, through its San Miguel Bulk Water Co., previously made an offer to develop the P50-billion Laiban Dam project but talks bogged down reportedly due to the take or pay provision in SMC’s offer.

The project was supposed to provide 1,900 MLD or 22 cubic meters per second of water for Metro Manila.

Ortiz said the Philippines power capacity must grow six percent annually given the six-to seven-power growth in the economy.

“Our total installed capacity today is 16,000 MW, so if we get six percent of that, that’s about 300 to 400 MW so we need to add 400 new MW, to our energy supply for the next 10 years,” Ortiz said.

He said that fortunately, the country has 2,700 MW committed and another 2,500 MW of indicative projects.

“My problem is on the political and leadership. We now have a golden opportunity in the next seven years… we can now move to the next level, bring manufacturing because there are no more blackouts. So it’s imperative for the new government next year whoever that may be to accelerate installation of strategic energy infrastructure and grid interconnections. We have to move fast,” Ortiz said.