ALSONS Consolidated Resources Inc. (ACR) of the Alcantara Group has entered into an Omnibus Notes Facility and Security Agreement for a P7.5-billion note issuance.
Proceeds from the notes issuance would be used to prepay an existing loan facility and to finance the company’s investment in power-related assets. The notes will have five-year and seven-year tranches, ACR said.
ING Bank NV was tapped as the issue manager and bookrunner for the transaction. ACR currently operates three diesel-power plants. It is also developing coal-power facilities and renewable sources of energy.
The diesel plants are the 103 megawatts (MW) of the Mapalad Power Corp. (MPC) in Iligan City, the Southern Philippines Power Corp.’s (SPPC) 55-MW power plant in Alabel, Sarangani, and the 100-MW Western Mindanao Power Corp. (WMPC) plant in Zamboanga City. All have significantly contributed to alleviating the power shortage in Mindanao.
ACR is developing coal-fired power facilities to help provide a stable source of base-load power for Mindanao and ensure long-term power security for the island. These facilities are the 105-MW San Ramon Power Inc. (SRPI) plant in Zamboanga City and the 210-MW Sarangani Energy Corp. (SEC) plant in Maasim, Sarangani.
The first 105-MW section of the SEC plant is now in the advanced stages of testing and commissioning, and will begin commercial operations in the first quarter of 2016 with an initial capacity of 105 MW. The SEC plant is expected to be operating at its full 210-MW capacity in 2018. The SRPI power facility in Zamboanga City is expected to begin construction in 2016 and is slated to operate by 2019.
ACR is developing a 15-MW run-of-river hydroelectric plant along the Siguil River in Maasim. The Siguil plant is targeting to begin construction in 2016.
ACR-affiliated power facilities are expected to have a total generating capacity of 588 MW by 2019. The capacity will fulfill more than 25 percent of Mindanao’s projected peak demand for that year.
The Alcantara Group, through its other subsidiaries aside from ACR, is also engaged in aquaculture and agribusiness, property development and services. It has been an active player in the economic development of Mindanao and the rest of the Philippines for over 50 years.