A coal-fired power plant proposed for Mindanao has run into controversy as objectors question its viability and the means by which it was approved.
The contract for the 200 MW coal project was awarded by the Philippines National Power Corp (NPC) in 1996 to the State Power Development Corp and its German partner Steag. However the scheme did not have the proper environmental clearance and endorsement from northern Mindanao.
The power plant was originally intended to provide energy for the now abandoned Jacinto Steel Mill project. The latter, planned during the Ramos presidency, was intended to be built on property owned by the Philippine Veterans Industrial and Development Estate Corp. But financial problems meant this scheme never got off the ground.
Arguments for construction of the plant now rely on forecasts by the NPC of a steep increase in demand for power in Mindanao. However the issue has been further muddied by controversy over a trip to Germany by local government officials from Mindanao paid for by the sponsors of the power plant project. Objectors are seizing on this as an attempt to influence the decision-makers.
Meanwhile, the government's Inter-Agency Independent Power Producer Review Committee listed the coal-fired scheme among a list of questionable contracts, one of 29 out of 35 reviewed, that failed the committee's review process. It was declared defective because of financial issues. However there are strong indications that the project may proceed, provided it can secure an environmental clearance certificate from the Environment Management Bureau in Manila.
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