Vivant buys into Aboitiz power unit

MANILA, Philippines–Vivant Integrated Generation Corp. (VIGC), a unit of publicly listed Vivant Corp., said Thursday that it is acquiring up to 20 percent equity interest in the Aboitiz-led Therma Visayas Inc. (TVI).

In separate disclosures to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Thursday, Aboitiz Power Corp. and Vivant Corp. reported that VIGC entered into a shareholders agreement with Therma Power Inc. (TPI), the holding company of Aboitiz Power’s investments in non-renewable generation assets.

The companies, however, did not disclose the investment amount.

TVI, a unit of TPI, is the project company that is looking to construct two 150-megawatt coal fired power generation facilities worth P41 billion in Barangay Bato, Toledo City in Cebu.

VIGC, meanwhile, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Vivant Energy Corp., which in turn is 100 percent owned by Vivant Corp.

The proposed coal facility in Cebu is expected to help meet growing demand for more electricity capacity in the Visayas grid by the third quarter of 2017.

TVI has already signed an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with Hyundai Engineering Co. Ltd. and Galing Power Energy Co. Inc. after two months of negotiations, and has been working to seal the deals with local financing institutions to fund the project.

This project is also expected to create more than 1,500 new jobs during construction, and about 150 new permanent jobs once it becomes operational.–Amy R. Remo