FDC subsidiary plans power projects in Luzon

MANILA, Philippines—Gotianun family-led Filinvest Development Corp. (FDC) wants to expand its power portfolio into Luzon, executives said last week.

“We are always looking for opportunities. We have no specific target [areas for expansion] yet [but] we’re studying various options. These could involve greenfield or totally new power plants, or maybe the acquisition of power assets if and when they become available,” FDC chair Jonathan T. Gotianun told a press conference.

“The way we see it, [power] is an area where the country really needs to progress. If the country’s economy is to grow, we really need more power,” he said.

FDC president and chief executive Josephine Gotianun-Yap said they were also open to enter into joint ventures, depending on the size of the projects, citing that the power industry was “conducive to partnering.”

What could be definite at the moment, Gotianun-Yap said, was that they were keenly looking into expanding their power assets for the Luzon market—the biggest area with “substantial” demand—than Visayas and Mindanao. “We feel that our investment in Mindanao is already quite big. It should already be able to service the requirements of the Mindanao market together with some of the other projects already there. I think Visayas is also well taken care of by the players,” she said.

Subsidiary FDC Utilities Inc. (FDCUI) is constructing a 405-megawatt (MW) circulating fluidized bed coal thermal power plant within the Phividec Industrial Estate in Villanueva, Misamis Oriental. This coal-fired facility will be the biggest power plant in Mindanao when operations begin in 2016.

Once operational, the Mindanao plant was expected to contribute P2 billion a year in terms of income, FDC executive vice president and chief operating officer Eleuterio D. Coronel said.