Hedcor Sibulan, Inc., (SBI), has signed a loan for US$82M to help fund the 42.5MW plant in The Philippines. The project has a budget of US$115M.
Sibulan consists of two run-of-river projects and the scheme is expected to generate 212GWh annually. Construction started mid-2007 and the scheme is expected to be operational from August 2009.
The loan has a 12 year term and was supplied in equal parts by three organisations – Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co, Philippine National Bank, and Rizal Commercial Banking Corp.
Aboitiz said the scheme should prevent the release of more than 90,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.
The company also reported its first quarter results recently, which included the 360MW Magat hydro plant contributing the largest share of earnings, helped by average spot market electricity prices. Two-thirds of the plant’s output is sold at peak demand periods.
Having previously acquired Magat in the electricity privatisation process, Aboitiz added that its expects to close on the acquisition of the 175MW Ambuklao-Binga complex by mid-year. It was awarded the winning bid at auction last November. The company plans to sell the majority of output from the plants at peak periods, like Magat.
