Rafael Consing Jr., CEO of Maharlika Investment Corp. (MIC), said they are working on the project alongside the state-run National Electrification Administration, led by administrator Antonio Mariano C. Almeda.
“The aim is for MIC to invest in Mindoro’s secondary transmission backbone,” Consing told InsiderPH.
Last April, the MIC signed an agreement with Occidental and Oriental Mindoro to support investments in critical energy infrastructure.
Consing said they have since made progress, coordinating with the NEA on a feasibility study and developing the terms of reference for the planned investment.
“It will be one of the first [investments of MIC],” Consing said.
“Intuitively, we should aim to close the acquisition of the target in three months and commence expansion thereafter,” he added.
Keen interest from other investors
Consing was a guest at the recent capital markets dialogue, that was hosted by the Philippine Stock Exchange in partnership with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and MOBILIST last Oct. 23.
“There is keen interest in this project,” Consing said.
Almeda, in a separate interview, told InsiderPH the idea was for MIC to purchase and upgrade Mindoro’s transmissions assets from National Power Corp., which is unable to fund the needed upgrades.
NEA: Project to solve Mindoro brownouts
“The vision for the island of Mindoro is to improve their voltage and reliability of electricity,” Almeda said.
Once MIC takes over, the power facilities will be operated by National Transmission Corp.
He said the transmission assets alone could be worth P2 billion while upgrades could cost P1 billion to P2 billion although the final amount could still change.
As for the time, the NPC hopes to complete the award by 2025 while the upgrades could take 1.5 to two years.
Future plans
The Department of Energy announced last year that Mindoro will be connected to the national transmission grid, which is operated by private company National Grid Corp. of the Philippines, or NGCP.
Once this happens, Almeda explained NGCP will be required to purchase the power assets from MIC.
This will allow the fund to redeploy investment to other growth areas.
Miguel R. Camus has been a reporter covering various domestic business topics since 2009.
