SMC Global Power Holdings, the power arm of San Miguel Corporation (SMC), will be investing in a 600-megawatt (MW) liquefied natural gas (LNG) power plant on Mactan Island in Cebu to provide baseload power to the grid.
Located specifically in Lapu-Lapu City, the project will cost between $1.5 and $1.7 million per MW, for a total of USD 900M to USD 1.2bn (Php 47.2-Php 63bn). The power plant will be built in a leased 26.16-hectare area leased from Keppel Cebu Shipyard Land, Inc. and the National Development Company.
Construction of the plant would take around five years beginning in the third quarter of the year while testing and commissioning are scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2023. Commercial operations are slated for the second quarter of 2024.
Data from the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Power Development Plan shows that the country’s power demand will grow five percent a year and will reach 49,287MW by 2040.
SMC Global Power is also working on a 300MW LNG combined cycle power plant in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental, which is currently facing environmental and economic concerns from local stakeholders and energy advocacy groups. The diversified conglomerate is also working on another 600MW LNG plant project in Tabango, Leyte worth Php 41.5bn.