Announcement of Thirty-Five Million US Dollars Loan to Philippines for Hydroelectric Project on October 13, 1961

.. 0 f . FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE. • lNTERNATiONAL BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT 1818 H STREET, N. W., ·w;~\'iH I NGTOtr ;~5, 0. C. TELEPHONE: EXECUTIVE 3-6360 ..~ Press Release No. 716 SUBJECT: $34 million loan to October 13, 1961 Philippines for hydroelectric project The World\Banlc today made a loan equivalent to $34 million to the National Power Corporation of the Philippines to assist, in financing a large hydro- electric project on the island of Luzon. Twelve commercial banks are participating in the loan, without the Wor.ld Bank's guarantee, to a total of $1,217,000, covering the entire first three maturities, due from June 1, 1965 to June 1, 1966. The banks are: The Chase • Manhattan Bank, New York; Irving Trust Company, New York; Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company, New York; Wells Fargo Bank .American Trust Company) San Francisco; Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust Company of Chicago, Chicago; First Nat.i.onal City Bank, New 7tork; National Bank of Commerce 'of Seattle, .~ . . attle; Crocker-Anglo Nat,ional Bank, .San Francisco; The Philcid~phia National Bank, Philadelphia; The Marine Midland Trust Company of New York, New York; Girard Trust Corn Exchange Bank, Philadelphia; and Grace National Bank of New 'Yt)J?k, New York. The National Power Corporation (NFC) is an autonomous government-owned '!orporation supplying bulk power to industry and to private pc>Wer distributor,s. Present generating capacity' i..'1 Luzon is about 44.5,000 kilot,ratts; about half is owned by NPC and the rest ~y a( private. company serving t,he Manila metrozolitan ) [ ~f~a. It is estimated th~-} ·the capacity of ~the Luzon power grid should '\increas~ ,. ll L - 2 - by an average of about 12% a year over the next decade to provide adequate service for the island., including the growing industrial complex of Manila, which now has a. population of more than one million. Most of the increased capacity must be provided by NPC, which has embarked on a program designed to add 946,000 kilowatts to the grid by the end of 1972. The project to be financed by the loan will be located on the Angat River about 25 miles northeast of Manila, and will have installed capacity of 206.,000 kilowatts. An earth and rockfill dam will be built, 410 feet high and 1, 700 feet long at the crest. The dam will create a reservoir of more than 20 billion cubic feet. A pressure tunnel about 4,600 feet long will carry water from the reservoir tD a powerhouse in which four 50,000-kilowatt generators will be installed. The .Angat Dam will be only a few w~les upsti•eam from the existing Ipo • reservo:ir, the principal source of domestic water supply for Manila. One of two diversion tunnels required for the construction of the new dam will be left in service to maintain the flow of water to Ipo. A secondary powerhouse with a 6,000-kilowatt .generator will be built a:t the outlet of this tunnel; more generators can be installed as increasing amounts of water are diverted from the Angat River for domestic use. Total cost of the Angat project is estimated at the equivalent of $62.8 million. The Bank loan will cover the foreign exchange cI,sts. In return for water rights the National Waterworks and Sewerage Authority is making a cont;ibution of the equivalent of $7.2 million toward local currency costs. NPC p~~;tS to finance the balance of local expenditures from retained earnings It and from the sale of Bonds ro Philippine investors_• " ' • 1. - 3 - • NFC~ This is ths third Bank loan to the Philippines and the secorrl loan to The first, of $18.5 million, electric project in northern Luzon. was made in 1957 for the Binga hydro..,. The Bank loan is for a term of 25 years with semi-annual amortization payments beginning on June 1, 196.5 and ending on December 1, 1986. The rate of interest, including the 1% conunission credited to the Bank's Special Reserve, is 5~3/4% • • •