The Philippines once again proved its global competitiveness, this time in the form of energy efficient project, at the 7th Edition of the Annual Investment Meeting (AIM), the biggest investments exposition in the Middle East, held on April 2 to 4 at the Dubai World Trade Center (DWTC).
The project, submitted by Philippine Board of Investments (BOI) and AES Philippines Energy Storage Co, Ltd. (APESCL), received the second highest votes during the evaluation process and was judged runner-up for best projects in South, East Asia and Oceania region.
The $60-million project involves a battery-based energy storage system made by AES and located in Cabangcalan, City Negros Occidental.
“The project aims to contribute to the stability of the Visayas electricity grid,” said Eric Elnar, commercial attaché of the Philippine Trade and Investment Center – Dubai.
“As you know the Visayas region is composed of hundreds of islands. This sort of project gives small islands the energy requirements that they need without getting supply from the bigger islands that would normally entail higher cost,” he added.
Elnar said it was the second win for the Philippines in the two times that it has joined the event. “We also won in 2015, the top award for the same region, The Best Investment Promotion Agency – the BOI,” said Elnar.
AES is comprised of, among others, Manila Electric Company (MERALCO), a few local government-owned utilities (NPC-SPUG) and numerous electric cooperatives (ECs) which sell to households as well as commercial and industrial enterprises located within their franchise areas at retail rates regulated by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC). Henri Abenis-Macahilo
Photo caption:
Dawood Al Shezawi, CEO of AIM’s organizing committee and Dr. Mukhisa Kituyi, secretary-general of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) hand the AIM 2017 Best Project runner-up award to Commercial Attaché Eric C. Elnar of the Philippine Trade and Investment Center-Dubai, during the AIM Official Gala Dinner on Sunday, April 2 2017 at Armani hotel in Burj Khalifa, Dubai.
