First Gen borrows $308 million from 4 banks

First Gen Corp. (First Gen) has sealed a $308-million loan from four banks to refinance its debts and partly fund its expansion projects.

The lenders are Bank of the Philippine Islands, BDO Unibank, Inc., Philippine National Bank, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Singapore Branch.

“The proceeds from the initial drawdown on the loans will be primarily used to repay the amounts due on FGP Corp. existing debt of approximately $164 million. FGP intends to draw on the balance of the facilities in the next 12 months to pre-fund First Gen’s upcoming projects,” First Gen said.

FGP, a subsidiary of First Gen Corp., owns and operates the 500 MW San Lorenzo natural gas-fired combined cycle power plant.

Francis Giles Puno, President and COO of First Gen, said the combined debt facilities totaling $308 million is a testimony to the strong support and continuing confidence of the lenders in the company’s natural-gas business.

“First Gen pioneered this business about 24 years ago and it has since reached even greater heights. The natural gas platform now stands at 2,017 MW and we are working hard to deliver the country’s first Interim Offshore LNG Terminal Project, as well as additional natural gas-fired power plants. Today, we are honored and grateful that our lenders continue to be supportive of our endeavors to deliver clean and cost-efficient power to Filipinos,” said Puno in a statement.

The company has 3,495MW of installed capacity in its portfolio, which accounts for 19 percent of the country’s gross generation.

The company said it is setting aside about $530 million in capital expenditures (capex) this year to mostly fund geothermal, gas and hydro projects.

First Gen Chief Financial Officer Emmanuel Singson said $280 million will be utilized by Energy Development Corp., $120 million for its liquefied natural gas terminal and $60 million for its 100MW pumped-storage project.