(CNN Philippines) — Diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) will have a majority stake in a joint venture that will operate and maintain one of Luzon’s hydroelectric power plants.
A disclosure of the company to the stock exchange on Thursday (May 21) states that the Angat hydroelectric project will be undertaken by the company through a wholly-owned subsidary, PowerOne Ventures Energy, Inc., and state-owned Korea Water Resources Corp. (K-Water).
“…(T)he Angat Project shall be jointly undertaken by the Company and K-Water on a 60%-40% basis, respectively,” SMC said.
The deal to operate the 218-megawatt facility in Norzagaray, Bulacan, will be signed next week, the disclosure further read.
It also calls for the rehabilitation of the nearly 50-year-old Angat Dam, which suplies water for the power plant’s turbines.
The disclosure confirmed the statement of SMC President and Chief Operating Officer Ramon S. Ang to media on the sidelines of the stockholder’s meeting of Petron Corp. last week that company officials would be going to South Korea to sign the agreement.
The Korean partner won a bidding in 2010 held by the Power Sector Asset and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) to operate the facility. Its offer was $440.88 million.
In 2013, SMC began the process of entering into a joint venture with K-Water. Ang said last year SMC was looking into a looking partner for the majority stake, and later on said this will come after finalizing the deal with the Korean company.
SMC is into the power sector through SMC Global Power Holdings Corp. It’s the administrator of the Sual coal-fired power plant in Pangasinan through San Miguel Energy Corp., the Ilijan natural gas power plant in Batangas, and San Roque hydroelectric plant in Pangasinan. These are all major power facilities that contribute to the Luzon grid.
