UP Ibalon Bicol: RP’s Bataan nuclear power plant sold for a measly $2,859 million

RP’s Bataan nuclear power plant sold for a measly $2,859 million

4/20/2009 | Posted by mesiamd | Edit Post

One of the most stupid deals that the disgraced Marcos regime left the Filipinos was the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP)--- a white elephant which was never used because of safety concerns. Studies on the facility disclosed numerous safety-defects which made it too costly to revive after more than 3 decades of non-operation.

Built in 1976 and finished in 1984 in response to the oil crisis three decades ago, the overpriced behemoth energy facility that could have supplied the country of needed electricity was offered for sale in 2005. Only now did the nuclear plant have its buyer.

The sale surely brought back bitter recall of a useless facility in Morong, Bataan which never generated electricity, but caused Filipino taxpayers $155,000 per day for more than 30 years. It was built by the Marcos at cost of $.2.3 billion on a borrowed funding of $1.06 billion, the country’s greatest single debt obligation,

“When Marcos was overthrown by the so-called People Power Revolution in early 1986 a team of international inspectors visited the site and declared it unsafe and inoperable as it was built near major earthquake fault lines and near the Pinatubo volcano which at the time was dormant.”----Energy Bulletin (06/03/04, Wilson, K)

As scrap, Philippine government sold BNPP to a local company, the Ruberon Inc., for a give-away sum of $2,859 million (0.124% of its construction cost) ----the measly tag (doesn't include the land) for the plant’s building structures, plant equipment, and accessories apt to be recycled and sold for a profit. Ruberon’s officer on legal affairs Feliciano Clemencio had this to say of BNPP:

“Because the asset had been decommissioned, the company would dismantle the facilities, retrieve some usable materials, and then recycle it to be sold to local and foreign buyers. The trading of metals is better than opening new mining sites. This is one alternative: recycling some of the metals and melting them” ---Manila Standard (04/18-19/99, Flores, AM)

Considered an environmental hazard, the failed nuclear plant located 60 miles north of Manila is one among the best examples of mismanagement during the time of Marcos whose aftermath is still being felt by Filipinos today. The principal players in the deal were never made to account for their irresponsibility.

“The failure of the Philippines in its attempt to use nuclear energy can be traced to corruption. The nuclear plant, if designed and constructed properly, could have been used to avert a power blackout in the 1980s. The power crisis not only plunged the whole country into darkness, it crippled the local economy, especially the manufacturing sector.” ---Yehey (07/03/09, Palatino, M)

Under Pres. Cory Aquino’s watch, the BNPP’s operation was banned and written in the constitution. Subsequent administrations were unsuccessful in finding ways to make outdated BNPP useful. The debt burden of the mothballed nuclear plant had caused tremendous financial pain for the country long before the current economic crisis came. (Photo Credit: IAEA.org/ Rotaru, I) =0=

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Labels: Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, BNPP, electricity, energy, environment, Ferdinand Marcos, loss, nuclear hazard, nuclear plant, sale, Totie Mesia

UP Ibalon Bicol

RP’s Bataan nuclear power plant sold for a measly $2,859 million

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