Semirara Mining Corp. is tapping a P14-billion project loan facility to fund the first phase of its coal-fired power project in Batangas, which involves the construction of a 300-megawatt plant.
According to Semirara vice chairman Isidro Consunji, the facility will have a seven-year tenor plus a three-year grace period, and will likely have an annual interest rate of less than 8 percent.
“It’s a good time to borrow because interest rates are low. I don’t think interest rates will go up significantly. The loan carries a floating rate (which means it will be re-priced) but we have an option to shift to fixed term within three years,” Consunji told reporters.
Proceeds from the project loan facility, for which BDO Capital and Investment Corp. will be the lead arranger, will be used specifically for the design, engineering, procurement, construction and operation of the planned coal plant, Semirara said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange Wednesday.
The construction of the additional two 150-MW units will be undertaken by its subsidiary, Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corp., which is still under the process of incorporation.
The new coal units will be located adjacent to the existing 600-MW Batangas coal-fired thermal power plant, which is owned and operated by SEM Calaca Power Corp., also a wholly owned subsidiary of Semirara Mining.
The proposed 300-MW coal facility (Phase 1) is part of a bigger project that targets to have a completely new 1,200-MW coal-fired power generation complex in Batangas.