BDO CAPITAL and Investment Corp. is expanding its green financing portfolio by backing the country’s first waste-to-energy (WTE) facility and the large-scale hydropower assets set to be turned over by the government, its president said.
In an interview last week, BDO Capital President Eduardo V. Francisco said the company is working with the Thunder Consortium — the winning bidder for the Caliraya-Botocan-Kalayaan (CBK) hydroelectric power plants (HEPP) — to finance the acquisition of the 796.64-megawatt (MW) complex in Laguna.
Aboitiz-led Thunder Consortium won the PSALM auction for the hydroelectric assets in June with an offer of P36.266 billion.
The consortium is composed of Aboitiz Renewables, Inc. (ARI), Sumitomo Corp., and Electric Power Development Co. (J-Power).
“We’re willing to finance the whole thing,” Mr. Francisco said.
The complex includes the 39.37-MW Caliraya HEPP in Lumban, the 22.91-MW Botocan HEPP in Majayjay, and the 366-MW Kalayaan I and 368.36-MW Kalayaan II pumped-storage power plants, all located in Laguna.
PSALM President and Chief Executive Officer Dennis Edward A. dela Serna earlier told BusinessWorld that the facility’s turnover is targeted for February 2026.
Meanwhile, Mr. Francisco said BDO is extending a $200-million loan to help finance the proposed WTE plant in Smokey Mountain, Tondo, Manila.
“We are looking to finance the first waste-to-energy project in the country,” he said.
Manila Integrated Environment Corp. (MIEC), majority owned by Phil. Ecology Systems Corp. of tycoon Reghis M. Romero II, plans to build and operate a WTE facility with a capacity of 3,000 tons per day of residual municipal solid waste, capable of generating 100 MW of electricity.
The WTE project is targeted to begin commercial operations by the fourth quarter of 2028.
BDO Capital, the investment banking arm of BDO Unibank, Inc., has funded P1.04 trillion worth of sustainable projects across the energy, infrastructure, water, transportation, and community development sectors since launching its Sustainable Finance Program in 2010. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera
