Electricity Generating Plc (Egco), a subsidiary of state-run Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat), plans to spend 150 billion baht to expand its businesses through 2025 and seek new opportunities in infrastructure projects, which are seen as an economic booster for Thailand.
In the power generation business, the company expects to add new capacity of 1,000 megawatts to its portfolio this year, mainly through 3-4 asset acquisitions currently under negotiation.
The talks are progressing and the details should be announced within this year, Egco president Thepparat Theppitak said yesterday.
Egco plans to spend 37 billion baht for the purchase deals, targeting both fossil-fired and renewable power plants in Vietnam, the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan and the US.
The company has total power generation capacity of 6,016MW under power purchase agreements, with 5,695MW from facilities already in operation.
Earlier, Egco acquired a 28% share of Linden Topco, which operates a 972MW natural gas-fired co-generation facility, known as Linden Cogen, situated in Linden, New Jersey, the US.
Egco is also planning to increase its electricity generation capacity through two new power plant construction projects, which are currently not under power purchase agreements.
They are coal-fired Quan-Tri Power Plant in Vietnam, with capacity of 1,320MW, and a gas-fired co-generation facility, with capacity of 110MW, under small power producer scheme in Rayong Industrial Park.
Infrastructure development is also Egco's promising business since it diversified into this industry in 2019 by acquiring a 43% stake in Thai Pipeline Network, a provider of oil pipeline transport services to northeastern Thailand and oil depot services.
Mr Thepparat said Egco is looking for new business opportunities in several other infrastructure projects in mass transport and logistics, but declined to specify them.
"Infrastructure development is crucial to help Thailand escape the middle-income trap," according to Mr Thepparat.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister and Energy Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow said energy policymakers have yet to decide whether to include two solar farm project proposals in the national power development plan.
Mr Supattanapong was referring to the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) Office's initiative to develop a 500MW solar farm within the EEC zone and a joint feasibility study, between Egat and Royal Thai Army, which concerns the construction of a 300MW solar farm located on military land in Kanchanaburi province.