Monday, August 18, 2008 Conal optimistic to get permit for power plant
GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- The Alcantara-led Conal Holdings Corp. appeared optimistic Friday it will be granted the environmental clearance certificate to operate a coal-fired power plant in Maasim, Sarangani.
Already in the pipeline will be the conduct of an environmental impact assessment, after the completion of public scoping which kicked off last Tuesday, Joseph C. Nocos, Conal Holdings vice president, said in a statement.
The latest indication that Conal Holdings is keen in pursuing the coal-fired project is its reported acquisition of a 55-hectare property in the hamlet of Tampuan in Barangay Kamanga.
The company earlier announced plans to construct a 200-megawatt coal-fueled power plant at a tune of $450-million in anticipation of an electricity supply shortfall in 2012. The project targets to increase to 900 MG the plant's capacity into two 350 MG increments.
Nocos said the public scoping was just the first step in the long process of obtaining an ECC from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
"After the public scoping, Conal Holdings, together with its consultants, will conduct an environmental impact assessment which will later be evaluated by a review committee," Nocos added.
"Based on the recommendation of the review committee, the DENR's Environment Management Bureau will decide if we are going to be given or denied an ECC," he said.
The review committee, according to Conal Holdings, is composed of experts from the Environment department, Department of Energy (DOE), Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pag-asa) and the academe.
Some members of the review committee were present during the first public scoping held at the Maasim municipal gym last week.
The company is expected to hold public hearings to validate the results of its study.
Nocos said that along with the environmental impact assessment study, they will launch series of baseline surveys to determine the demographics and topography of the area where they will build the plant.
"We will also conduct an inventory of the existing flora and fauna in the immediate environ of the proposed power plant including the present marine life and condition of the bay where we will locate," he explained. (BSS)
