Aboitiz Equity Ventures allots Php 60 billion capex in 2015; Lion share goes to its power generation projects

Aboitiz Equity Ventures has earmarked a capital expenditure budget of Php 60 billion in 2015, with its power unit getting the lion share for its expansion projects.

AboitizPower, is allotting Php 52 billion in capex for the year and remains committed, along with its partners, to increase total capacity by over 2,000 MW in the next five years.

This includes, among others, the 420 MW Pagbilao baseload  plant in Quezon which began construction late last year and the 340  MW Therma Visayas baseload plant in Cebu which will break ground  within the year.

Another 300 MW will come from Therma South, which will start operations in the first half of 2015, to provide much needed power to the Mindanao grid, while its unit three expansion of 170 MW will also begin construction within the year.

Additionally, the 68 MW Manolo Fortich hydropower plant in Bukidnon will also start construction within the year, while the 600 MW Subic baseload  plant  is still experiencing  delay due to ongoing legal challenges.

Consistent with its commitment to provide the nation with the right mix of energy sources that balances the interest of people, planet, and profit, AboitizPower is also intent on expanding its renewable energy portfolio.

  This includes exploring new sources of renewable energy such as solar and geothermal.

AboitizPower has recently forged a partnership with American company SunEdison, to build solar power plants in the country.

It has also identified roughly 200 MW of potential run of river power projects located across the archipelago for the next five years.

Meanwhile, the Group’s food  unit Pilmico, believes that the Philippines’ continued economic growth will strongly support growth in the country’s food consumption.

  To this end, it has allocated  Php 2.

7 billion for the year in support of efforts to build a new layer farm and expand the capacity of various facilities under its flour, feeds, and swine divisions.

On the other hand, AboitizLand  is spending Php 3.

7 billion  to acquire more industrial and residential land, as it continues to expand its business outside of Cebu, and onto the national arena.

AEV’s banking unit UnionBank, for its part, has apportioned  Php 455 million for continued branch expansion, particularly for its subsidiary, CitySavings Bank, as the latter pursues its growth objective of further building up its market share in Luzon. Recently, AEV has stated its strategic objective of entering the infrastructure space, which will form the fifth leg of its core businesses, in addition to power, banking, land, and food.

“We foresee the private and public sectors pouring large investments into this sector over the next 10 to 15 years and we want to play a role in this trend. We are very optimistic of the gains this new core business will bring to the Group, amid the huge demand for infrastructure in both the local and emerging markets across Asia”, said AEV President and CEO Erramon Aboitiz.