State-run Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), the ninth-largest lender in terms of assets, extended a P1.4-billion loan to a renewable energy company as partial funding for the construction of a 8.4-megawatt hydroelectric power plant in Bukidnon province.
DBP president and chief executive Michael de Jesus said Friday the loan is in line with the government’s efforts to expand new and sustainable energy sources.
The loan granted to Investco BHPI Inc. was made under the bank’s Financing Utilities for Sustainable Energy Development (FUSED) program which seeks to help increase access to electricity services particularly in the countryside.
Investco, established in 2013, is mainly involved in the development, operation and management of renewable energy with its proposed Maladugao River hydroelectric power plant which is expected to be on stream by 2025.
“The construction of the 8.4-MW Maladugao River hydroelectric power plant bodes well for the people of Bukidnon and is a tangible manifestation of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.’s vision of an energy-sufficient Philippines,” de Jesus said.
DBP is the ninth largest bank in the country in terms of assets and provides credit support to four strategic sectors of the economy – infrastructure and logistics; micro, small and medium enterprises; the environment; and social services and community development.
De Jesus said that under the FUSED program, DBP approved a total of P81.5 billion in loans to 95 borrowers, with total loan releases reaching P57.2 billion as of end of September 2023.
He said the Maladugao hydroelectric power plant was contracted by the First Bukidnon Electric Cooperative to provide an initial supply of 5.5 MW of electricity to the southern part of Bukidnon, including Valencia City, which is seen to mitigate the impact of a looming energy shortage in the province by 2028 based on data from the Department of Energy.
De Jesus said the project would stimulate the growth of local industries and small businesses and generate more economic opportunities for the people of Bukidnon.