The Export-Import Bank of Japan (JEXIM) has signed an agreement with San Roque Power Corporation (SRPC) for a US$302M loan for the 345MW San Roque dam, located on the Agno river in the Philippines. The US$1.5B project is being constructed by a consortium led by US-based Sithe Energies and the Japanese Marubeni Corporation.
JEXIM funding for the dam was approved despite local opposition to the scheme. ‘The people oppose the San Roque project because of its social and environmental impacts,’ said Joan Carling of Cordillera, one of the Philippine groups fighting construction of the dam.
In 1997, Marubeni and Sithe Energies received the government contract to build, operate and maintain the project in Pangasinan province. In April, US-based Raytheon Company won a US$700M sub-contract to design and build the facility. The Philippines’ National Power Corporation (NPC) is responsible for contributing US$400M towards construction of the dam and spillway.
JEXIM is currently considering another request by the Philippine government for a loan to finance NPC’s contribution.
