Saturday, May 10, 2008 Subcontractor launches new steel pipe fabrication plant
INTERNATIONAL Pipe Industries Corp. (IPIC), a sub-contractor of Hedcor Sibulan Inc.’s (HSI) 42.5-megawatt Sibulan Hydropower Project (SHP), recently inaugurated its steel fabrication plant in Barangay Darong, Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur.
Joel Reyes, IPIC assistant vice president for sales and marketing, led the inauguration and plant blessing ceremonies. Also in attendance were Sta. Cruz Mayor Joel Rey Lopez and HSI officials led by project director Ken Cooke.
IPIC also unveiled its advanced spiral pipe manufacturing equipment, which is capable of automatically fabricating 48 meters of spiral welded pipes per day. These pressurized pipes will be used to convey water from the Baroring and Sibulan Rivers into a pair of cascading run-of-river hydropower plants.
The SHP will require a total of 13.3 kilometers of pressurized pipes to be manufactured from 5,100 tons of steel. The pipes will have an average diameter of 1.8 meters.
“This is part of Hedcor’s commitment to develop Davao’s hydropower potentials,” said Cooke. “We develop our projects by sourcing most of our needed skills and materials domestically to help the economy and create jobs,” he added.
The SHP is a P5-billion greenfield project that will generate 212 million kilowatt-hours of clean energy annually. The energy will be supplied to Davao Light and Power Company (DLPC) starting August 2009 to help address the impending power crisis in the region.
The Cebu-made spiral pipe manufacturing equipment will also make the steel pipes of Hedcor’s 34.5-megawatt Tamugan Hydropower Project (THP) and future hydropower projects in the region.
The THP is scheduled to break ground by the middle of this year and its three plants will require a 20.5-kilometer pipeline or 8,700 tons of steel. The THP will also supply its 234 million kilowatt-hour annual production to DLPC starting August 2010.
Hedcor is a subsidiary of publicly-listed Aboitiz Power Corp., the holding company of all Aboitiz assets in the power generation, distribution and energy solutions industries. (PR)
