ABOITIZ POWER Corp. (AboitizPower) hopes to complete the P36-billion acquisition of the 797-megawatt (MW) Caliraya-Botocan-Kalayaan (CBK) hydroelectric power plant (HEPP) by the end of the year.
“The CBK acquisition is currently being evaluated by the PCC (Philippine Competition Commission); we still expect for financial close to happen at the end of November or early December,” AboitizPower Chief Financial Officer Juan Alejandro “Sandro” A. Aboitiz said in an earnings briefing last week.
The winning bidder, Thunder Consortium — comprising Aboitiz Renewables, Inc., Sumitomo Corp., and Electric Power Development Co. — holds a 64% stake through Aboitiz Renewables, the majority shareholder.
The CBK complex includes the 39.37-MW Caliraya HEPP in Lumban, the 22.91-MW Botocan HEPP in Majayjay, and the 366-MW Kalayaan I and 368.36-MW Kalayaan II pumped-storage plants, all in Laguna.
The complex is under a 25-year build-rehabilitate-operate-transfer agreement between CBK Power Co. Ltd. and the National Power Corp.
PSALM President and Chief Executive Officer Dennis Edward A. dela Serna said the state-run company is targeting turnover of the facility in February 2026.
“The expectation is that when the asset gets turned over to us, it’s contributing earnings to us immediately,” Mr. Aboitiz said.
Following the CBK deal, AboitizPower is set to deepen its partnership with Sumitomo through the proposed acquisition of a 25% stake in the latter’s 1,320-MW coal-fired power plant in Vietnam. The $220-million investment marks the company’s first major venture outside the Philippines.
“I think this is, to some extent, a deepening of that partnership. And we’re also eager to explore other ways to deepen that partnership with them, whether it’s in Vietnam or elsewhere,” Mr. Aboitiz said.
AboitizPower, the holding company of the Aboitiz Group’s power sector investments, had an attributable net sellable capacity of 5,284 MW as of May 2025, including 1,187 MW of renewable energy and 4,097 MW of thermal capacity.
The company aims to expand total capacity to 9.2 GW by 2030, with a 50:50 mix of renewable and thermal energy.
It remains the leading power producer in the Philippines, with a 23.86% market share in the national grid as of July 2025, according to the Energy Regulatory Commission. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera