Aboitiz-led group secures P70-B financing for CBK hydro takeover

AN ABOITIZ-LED consortium has secured loan commitments totaling up to P70 billion from BDO Unibank and Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. to finance part of its takeover of the Caliraya-Botocan-Kalayaan (CBK) hydropower facilities in Laguna.

In a regulatory filing on Thursday, the company said each bank has committed up to P35 billion, which the consortium may draw down to fund the transaction.

The financing follows the Philippine Competition Commission’s approval of the acquisition of the CBK power plant complex on Dec. 1.

Thunder Consortium — composed of Aboitiz Renewables, Inc., Japan’s Sumitomo Corp., and Electric Power Development Co. — won the privatization of the large-scale hydropower asset after submitting a P36.266-billion bid.

Aboitiz Renewables, Inc., a subsidiary of Aboitiz Power Corp., serves as the group’s platform for investments in renewable energy, with projects spanning solar, geothermal, hydropower, wind, and battery energy storage systems.

The company said the CBK power plants are expected to contribute to earnings immediately upon turnover.

The CBK complex consists of the 39.37-megawatt (MW) Caliraya plant in Lumban, the 22.91-MW Botocan plant in Majayjay, and the 366-MW Kalayaan I and 368.36-MW Kalayaan II pumped-storage facilities, all located in Laguna.

The asset is operated under a 25-year build-rehabilitate-operate-transfer agreement between CBK Power Co. Ltd. and the National Power Corp. (NPC).

State-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM), which led the privatization, is targeting the turnover of the power plant complex in February 2026.

PSALM is mandated to privatize the government’s power assets to help settle NPC’s financial obligations. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera