Philippines: 1,000MW Agus-Pulangi hydropower giant in Mindanao up for sale

Manila: Big money is circling one of the Philippines’ most powerful energy assets.

Investor interest is heating up around the Agus-Pulangi Hydropower Complex (APHC) in Mindanao that has long powered the southern island of 26.25 million inhabitants.

According to Dennis Dela Serna, president of state-owned Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM), three proposals have already landed on the government’s desk to rehabilitate the aging facility.

Two bids are still under evaluation, with a clear goal: bring the complex roaring back to its full 1,000-megawatt capacity.

The APHC power plants, first built in the 1950s, form an chain of run-of-river hydroelectric power plants designed to deliver up to 1,000 megawatts of clean energy.

But time has taken its toll. While the system was built to hit the full 1,000-MW, aging equipment means it’s currently playing at about 600 to 700 MW.

With the right upgrades, this river-powered giant could be back to performing at full volume.

When running at its full capacity, a 1,000-MW facility can run roughly 3.3 million households in the Philippines, based on latest industry estimates.

Under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) deal, APHC would see it go to private operators, as mandated by law, potentially generating hundreds of millions of dollars for the national coffers.

The momentum follows a major energy handover earlier this week: the $642-million Caliraya-Botocan-Kalayaan (CBK) Hydroelectric Power Plant in Laguna was officially transferred on Monday (February 9, 2026) to a Filipino-Japanese consortium led by Aboitiz Renewables.

The transition is widely seen as a confidence booster for similar PPP energy deals.

The high-stakes energy makeover decades-old plants are being offered as a long-term "concession” under a PPP deal — which allows private players to build, operate and modernise government-owned assets.

For investors, this isn’t just another project. It’s a strategic hydropower crown jewel in a region hungry for stable electricity.

The Agus-Pulangi system has long been a backbone of Mindanao’s grid, stabilising supply in a region that has historically struggled with power shortages. But years of wear and tear have slowed its output.

Mindanao, the Philippines’ food basket with a land area about thrice the size of Switzerland, features significant geographical diversity, including 10 mountain ranges, plateaus, and extensive lowlands, much of which is used for agriculture.

As the southern major island group, it is a significant, diverse, and resource-rich area.

It is also highly mineralised with critical minerals including gold, copper, iron, chromite, nickel, lead, and zinc.

Other significant mineral resources found across the island include silica, limestone and marble.

Rare earth elements (REEs) are also found in Mindanao, primarily associated with nickel-rich laterite deposits in several areas (like Surigao del Sur).

Under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA), PSALM is mandated to privatise government-owned power assets and apply the proceeds toward the settlement of liabilities incurred by National Power Corp (NPC).

Among PSALM’s remaining generation assets are the Agus-Pulangi hydropower complex and the decommissioned Mindanao coal-fired power plant.

In 2025, the government completed the transfer of the 165-megawatt Casecnan Hydroelectric Power Plant to Fresh River Lakes Corp., a subsidiary of First Gen Corp., for $526 million.

In November, First Gen Corp said it was exploring participation in the APHC rehab, allowing it to expand its hydropower portfolio and boost its renewable energy (RE) mix.