Innovation Business Highlights

Aboitiz synergies sees cross-company collaborations & shared sustainable growth

March 12, 2024

Aboitiz Power Corporation (AboitizPower) added to its synergistic partnerships with fellow Aboitiz-owned companies by helping operate the run-of-river hydroelectric power plant of a bulk water supply project in Davao City.

Aboitiz InfraCapital, Inc. (AIC) water subsidiary Apo Agua Infrastructura, Inc. (Apo Agua), along with partner and local service provider Davao City Water District (DCWD), recently inaugurated a bulk water supply project that has a daily water production capacity of 300 million liters. Through DCWD, the project benefits over one million Davaoeños within its service area.

Hedcor, a subsidiary of AboitizPower, will provide general management functions and technical and asset management support to Apo Agua’s hydroelectric power plant that powers its water treatment facility. Hedcor has generated electricity from run-of-river hydropower systems for more than 45 years.

In fulfilling these functions, the energy firm’s National Operations Control Center — a digital command post that allows for the remote operation of faraway renewable energy facilities — will serve as the main controller of the power generation assets. Aside from providing strategic and operational guidance, the AboitizPower unit will also train Apo Agua’s personnel in these activities.

The latest addition of Apo Agua effectively builds on a growing list of projects that show the Aboitiz Group’s transformation to becoming the Philippines’ first Techglomerate. This Great Transformation involves leveraging the strengths of the legacy conglomerate and its growing cross-company synergies to deliver more value to stakeholders and help tech-up the Philippine economy.

"I'm proud to witness OneNewAboitiz's seamless collaboration making a positive impact on communities. It's heartening to see the Aboitiz Group unite as stewards of sustainable development. This initiative reflects our push for innovation and uplifting lives across the Philippines. These moments reaffirm our belief in the power of synergy to create meaningful change," said Aboitiz Group President and CEO Sabin Aboitiz.

“The Great Transformation challenges us to be the best version of ourselves by being purpose-driven, synergistic, and innovative. It aligns with AboitizPower’s purpose of ‘Transforming Energy for a Better World,’ generating shared value for our stakeholders within and outside the Aboitiz Group, our host communities, and the country,” added AboitizPower President & CEO Emmanuel Rubio.

Powering economic growth drivers

Aside from operating Apo Agua’s hydro power plant, AboitizPower has also been generating electricity to power Economic Estates by AIC, particularly LIMA Estate in Lipa - Malvar, Batangas; Mactan Economic Zone 2 Estate in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu; and West Cebu Estate in Balamban, Cebu.

The 826-hectare LIMA Estate is considered to be the largest privately-owned industrial park in the Philippines. It contains about 66,000 employees, 177 locators, 167 retail stores and restaurants, a 136-room 4-star hotel, a transportation hub, and over 4,000 households.

It is envisioned to be the next leading mixed-use economic center for CALABARZON (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon), with BPOs, dormitories, hotels, schools, hospitals, churches, and other institutions.

Currently, some facilities in LIMA Estate are powered through retail electricity supply (RES) contracts with AboitizPower, while most are serviced by Lima Enerzone Corporation, an AboitizPower distribution utility.

AboitizPower Distributed Energy, Inc. and AIC have also installed 1.5 megawatt peak solar panels on the roofs of The Outlets, a 9,100 square meter shopping outlet inside the LIMA Estate. This is estimated to offset 31,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually.

Meanwhile, the 63-hectare Mactan Economic Zone 2 Estate is a mixed-use development hosting 14,000 employees from 46 locators; 70 retail stores, services and restaurants; 18 office spaces; and a transportation hub.

Operated in partnership with the Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority, it offers future development areas for BPOs, dormitories, and hotel buildings.

The electricity demand of Mactan Economic Zone 2 is serviced by AboitizPower utility provider Mactan Enerzone Corporation. Some locators have opted to choose their supplier via either RES contracts or the Green Energy Option Program or GEOP.

The 540-hectare West Cebu Estate is a mixed-use development anchored by a 283-hectare, Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) registered zone tagged as “the Shipbuilding Capital of the Philippines.”

It hosts 12 locators from medium to heavy industries, employing 14,000 skilled workers. The township has complementary residential, commercial, and institutional components, with future development eyed for commercial centers, dormitories, and residential communities.

The electricity needs of West Cebu Estate are met by AboitizPower distribution utility Balamban Enerzone Corporation. It also services contestable industrial customers.

All three economic zones are registered under the PEZA. Through these projects, AIC, the infrastructure arm of the Aboitiz Group, continues to champion smart and sustainable infrastructure solutions across the country that enable businesses and uplift communities.

Promoting a circular economy and resilient infrastructures

Republic Cement, an Aboitiz company, is an offtaker of fly ash from AboitizPower’s 340-megawatt Therma Visayas power plant in Toledo City, Cebu, enabling the repurposing and upcycling of what is otherwise considered a waste product.

Fly ash, which is a byproduct of coal-fired power generation, is used as a cement enhancing additive that reduces the need for clinker, a binder in cement products. Since clinker accounts for most of cement production’s carbon emissions and costs, replacing a proportion of it with fly ash reduces its environmental impact and lowers its production cost. Fly ash is estimated to be four times cheaper than clinker.

According to the Global Cement and Concrete Association, using fly ash as a supplementary cementitious material results in higher ultimate strengths, reduces the risk of cracking, decreases the permeability of concrete, enables higher resistance to chemically-aggressive environments, and improves the workability of concrete, which means using less water during production. Overall, fly ash concrete is likely to be more durable over time.

In 2023, Republic Cement hauled over 1,600 metric tons of fly ash per month, greatly benefiting its cement production while championing the idea of a circular economy.

In the realm of construction, AboitizPower has also engaged with Aboitiz Construction, Inc. (ACI), the construction arm of the Aboitiz Group involved in heavy industries, light industries, infrastructure, and industrial maintenance.

Last year, ACI installed 16,000 cubic meters of scaffolding outside the boiler of both units of the 300-megawatt Therma South, Inc. power plant in Mindanao during its scheduled outage. It also replaced a unit sootblower lance tube in the 1,336-megawatt GNPower Dinginin Ltd. Co. power plant in Bataan also during its planned outage.

In the same year, the construction firm conducted a small soil investigation for Therma Power Visayas, Inc. in Naga City, Cebu.

These projects, albeit small, are part of AboitizPower’s larger efforts to maintain the quality and efficiency of its generation facilities.

As it nears its Great Transformation goals in 2025, AboitizPower looks to continuously build, sustain, and strengthen its expertise and synergies with the rest of the Aboitiz Group by then and in the years to come. It will persist in driving progress and prosperity, not just for itself and each respective Aboitiz company, but for people and the planet as well.