The government is now readying the P16.71-billion funding for rehabilitating the Agus-Pulangi hydropower plant complex in Mindanao.
The Department of Finance (DOF) announced it is now finetuning a proposed arrangement with the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM) and National Power Corp. (NPC) for the funding and rehabilitation of the Agus-Pulangi hydro complex.
Under the proposed memorandum of agreement (MOA), the DOF will be the primary implementing agency, loan borrower and budget holder, and loan borrower for the rehabilitation projects.
As owner and operator of the hydro project, PSALM and NPC will both serve as the implementing units.
The first phase will involve rehabilitating the Agus IV, V, VI, and VII plants, which are expected to generate a total rated capacity of 417.1 megawatts, said NPC officer-in-charge SVP Melchor Ridulme in his report to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III.
The first phase is already pending approval by the NEDA (National Economic and Development Authority), and the DOF is reviewing the MOA for the proposed arrangement for the loan.
Ridulme said the second phase would rehabilitate Agus I, II, and the Pulangi IV plants, which will generate a total rated capacity of 515 megawatts.
Series of Project (SOP) 1 is estimated to cost P10.19 billion, while SOP 2 is about P6.52 billion, based on a study by the World Bank (WB).
Out of the 1,001 MW of installed capacity of the Agus-Pulangi hydro plants, only 600-700 MW are available, partly because of the limitations of their aging equipment.
The rehabilitation of the Agus-Pulangi plants is among the significant projects of President Duterte that will be turned over to the next administration, Ridulme said.
The plant’s rehabilitation aims not only to ensure the reliability of the power supply in Mindanao but also to accelerate the country’s shift to clean energy sources.
