MPIC partners with Dole for P1 billion biogas project

MANILA, Philippines — Metro Pacific Investments Corp., the infrastructure and tollways conglomerate chaired by tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan, is pouring in P1 billion for a new landmark biogas project with Dole Philippines Inc., marking MPIC’s foray into the bioenergy sector.

The move is part of MPIC’s diversification into the renewable energy sector as it aims to become a major provider of RE, which is regarded as cleaner than the traditional but cheaper forms of energy such as coal.

The P1 billion investment, to be sourced from MPIC’s internal funds, would be used to design, construct and operate biogas facilities specifically for Dole Philippines.

The project will be implemented by MPIC’s fully-owned subsidiary Metpower Venture Partners Holdings Inc. (MVPHI), through Surallah Biogas Ventures Corp. (SBVC).

“The biogas facilities located within the premises of Dole Philippines aim to complement their existing operation by processing organic fruit waste from its Surallah and Polomolok facilities in South Cotabato, Mindanao, and harnessing renewable energy in the form of biogas,” MPIC said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday.

According to the project’s blueprint, SBVC’s facilities will produce about 50,000 megawatt-hour (MWh) of clean energy annually to be used by Dole Philippines for power generation and fossil fuel substitute.

MPIC and Dole Philippines agree that the long-term Project is an innovative, environment-friendly, and sustainable waste management solution that is consistent with and further elevates the business tradition of Dole Philippines. 

Further, the project positively impacts climate change through CO2 emission reduction by approximately 100,000 tons per year.

The project serves as MPI’s first foray in bioenergy and will serve as a catalyst for a highly scalable waste-to-energy platform it plans to build in the Philippines through MVPHI.

In a recent briefing, MPIC president and CEO Jose Ma. Lim said the conglomerate started as early as five years ago with its plans to move to RE by conceptualizing an unsolicited waste-to-energy proposal that it eventually submitted to the Quezon City government.

“As early as five years ago, we were already conscious of the need to do something in the renewable space,” Lim said.

MPIC chief financial officer David Nicol said that the foray into bioenergy shows the conglomerate’s resolve to expand into renewable energy.

This developed as MPIC said yesterday that it has also secured a 10-year term loan of P5 billion from Union Bank of the Philippines. 

Proceeds will be used by MPIC to finance its investment in various projects and for other general corporate purposes. The loan will bear a fixed interest rate for the entire term.