Prime Infra—controlled by casino-to-ports billionaire Enrique K. Razon Jr—is investing $7.6 billion to build two pumped storage hydropower plants in the Philippines.
The company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Ahunan Power, is investing $5 billion to build a pumped storage facility at a water reservoir in Pakil, Laguna, south of Manila. The facility can generate 1,400 megawatts of electricity and store as much as 14,000 megawatt hours daily, Prime Infra said in a statement on Wednesday.
Olympia Violago Water Power, another wholly-owned unit of Prime Infra, is spending about $2.6 billion to develop a pumped storage facility at the Wawa dam in Rizal province, east of Manila. The Wawa pumped storage hydropower plant can generate 600 megawatts of electricity and store as much 6,000 megawatt hours daily, the company said in the statement.
Both pumped storage projects—which uses water flow at dams to power electric turbines and store energy—have received Certificates of Energy Project of National Significance from the Department of Energy. The certificate means government agencies can fast-track the issuance of permits for the facilities, which will help reduce the country’s reliance on coal-fired power plants.
“These are critical projects, essential to enable the energy transition and to enhance grid security through flexible energy generation,” Guillaume Lucci, president and CEO of Prime Infra, said in the statement. “As we advance through the development phases of these two projects, Prime Infra remains committed to leveraging pioneering solutions that meet current energy demands and position the Philippines to effectively tackle the challenges of a dynamic energy landscape going through a critical transition.” The facilities are expected to start commercial operations in 2030.
Razon—who draws the bulk of his wealth from publicly listed port giant International Container Terminal Services Inc. and casino operator Bloomberry—has been stepping up investments in water and energy infrastructure projects though privately held Prime Infra, which had canceled an initial public offering in 2022 due to market volatility. With a real-time net worth of $10.1 billion, Razon is also the controlling shareholder of water utility Manila Water.
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