BusinessWorld Online
May 18, 2011
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — Turkish and Korean investors have expressed interest in acquiring the 114-megawatt Iligan Diesel Power Plant 1 & 2 in Dalipuga, Iligan City. Some members of the 30-man Turkish mission that visited this city last week expressed interest in the plant now owned by the city government of Iligan.
The 7.9-hectare power complex was acquired by Iligan City under a compromise agreement with the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. following its failure to settle real estate taxes with the local government.
Earlier, the Energy Developer Co. Ltd. of Seoul, South Korea, a company involved in renewable energy generation, contracted Cagayan de Oro-based MERGS Technologies, Inc. to conduct due diligence and feasibility study on the plant following a visit to Iligan Mayor Lawrence Ll. Cruz.
Formerly known as the Northern Mindanao Power Corp. (NMPC), the $110-million facility was the first fast-tracked build-operate-transfer power project that is controlled by a local firm. It was commissioned in 1993 as an offshoot of the independent power producers initiative of the Ramos administration and is a joint undertaking of the Alcantara Group and Tomen Corp. of Japan.
Previously designated as NMPC-1 and NMPC-2, the plants were renamed as the Iligan Diesel Power Plant 1 and 2 when the two units were turned over to the National Power Corp. — Michael D. Baños