The Nation (Thailand)
Suwat Kamolpanus, managing director of the company’s power business, yesterday said the company had seven sugar mills in China. All of them are in Guangxi autonomous region in the south of the country, and two have sugar refineries, which enable the company to build biomass power plants.
Mitr Phol Group has been operating a 32-megawatt biomass power plant at one of those two refineries, in Funan, since December. The other refinery is in Ningming. Thus it is possible for the company to construct another biomass power plant in Ningming if the first one proves a success.
The investment cost for Mitr Phol Group’s first biomass power plant in Funan was 280 million yuan, or about Bt1.3 billion. The company holds a 40-per-cent stake in the power plant, so its proportion of the generating capacity is 150 million units per year. The power plant sells electricity to the Guangxi power grid at 0.70 yuan per unit with a concession contract period of 15 years. The company gets an adder from the Chinese government of 0.35 yuan per unit.
Suwat said Mitr Phol Group was paying more attention to the power-generating business. Its investment in this business in Thailand during 2010-11 is about Bt3.7 billion, which does not include the China venture.
In Thailand, Mitr Phol plans to build a new biomass power plant in Kalasin province adjacent to its sugar mill there, and expand the generating capacity of its Dan Chang power plant in Suphan Buri province this year.
The investment cost of the Kalasin power plant is Bt2.38 billion, while the capacity expansion in Dan Chang will cost Bt1.3 billion.
The company’s power business generates Bt2 billion per year, 10 per cent of total revenue.
