ADB gives loan to RP

ADB gives loan to RP

MANILA (AFP): The Philippine-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a US$164 million loan to the state-run National Power Corp. (NPC) for a major power transmission project south of Manila, Energy Secretary Delfin Lazaro said yesterday.

Lazaro said the project involves the construction of a 125- kilometer (78-mile), 500-kilovolt (KV) overhead transmission line from Tayabas town to Dasmarinas town in Cavite province just across Manila Bay.

An additional 65 kilometers (40.62 miles) of 250-KV lines to connect substations in four towns along or near the route would also be installed.

The ADB loan is payable in 20 years, inclusive of a three-year grace.

He said the main objective of the project, which has been awared to Swedish firm Asea Brown Boveri, is to transport electricity from a 700-megawatt plant in Pagbilao town, Quezon province to the south to the Philippine capital.

The coal-fired plant, scheduled to be commissioned early next year, is being built by Hong Kong-based Hopewell Holdings Ltd.