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THE P48 million or $1 million coal ash dumping deal between the Capitol and a power firm was sealed yesterday.
Hoon Kim, Korean Electric Corp. (Kepco) SPC Power Corp. president, assured Cebu provincial government officials of the firm's commitment to provide Cebu with efficient and environment-friendly energy at reasonable cost.
Hoon gave this assurance during the signing of the memorandum of agreement with Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia yesterday at the Capitol.
The MOA would allow Kepco to dump the coal ash from the operation of the 200 megawatt power plant under construction in barangay Colon, Naga town at the government owned 25-hectare Balili resort in Naga.
The new Kepco power plant is expected to be completed on January 2011.
Garcia said Cebu needed the power that Kepco is expected to produce to continue its growth and development.
“We can't push for growth if we do not have the needed power here,” she said.
Garcia said it was a bonus that the provincial government owned a property which also needed filling and which Kepco could use as an ash disposal facility, thus an offer for its use was made by the provincial government.
“You will not only help us reclaim our property but you will also add ($1 million or P48 million) to the revenues of the province that will go back to the implementation of projects for this island province,” Garcia said in her message after the MOA signing.
The 25-hectare Balili property, bought for P400 per sq. meter, is intended for a “land development project” that may include the establishment of an economic zone in the area.
The swampy part of the property will be the area to filled up with the coal ash from Kepco.
The MOA said that disposal of ashes into the Naga property will start from the date of the execution of the agreement and would continue within the next 25 years or until after the desired elevation of the Balili property is reached.
The Capitol will maintain the ash disposal facility and its access road for the duration of the contract. The Capitol will also provide and supervise personnel assigned to the facility.
The Capitol will also build an embankment that will secure the ash that will be dumped in the area and prevent the waste material from falling into the sea.
The Capitol is also expected to take all reasonable steps to protect the environment at the ash disposal facility.
In the event of environmental hazards, Capitol “shall, at its sole expense and within reasonable time of discovery, remove or render non-hazardous any hazardous substances, any contaminants and noise level”.
The power company shall pay the Capitol $1 per ton of ash dumped. The fee is subject to 10 percent escalation during the 6th year and another 10 percent increase every five years thereafter.
