MRC Allied taps UniSolar for mall project

As published on BusinessWorldOnline

MRC ALLIED, Inc. has signed on Thursday an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with UniSolar, Inc. (USI) to handle the solar rooftop system project of Xentro Mall Developer, Inc. with a capacity of at least 4 megawatts (MW).

“We are excited because this partnership with USI and Xentro Mall will solidify the entry of MRC into the solar PV (photovoltaic) rooftop industry,” said MRC Chairman Carlos P. Gatmaitan in a statement.

“This will also expand our RE (renewable energy) portfolio and bring us closer to our goal of contributing to the clean and renewable capacity of the country,” he added.

MRC told the stock exchange that the purpose of the EPC contract is to engage the services of USI for the design, supply, delivery, installation, testing and commissioning, with operation and maintenance of the solar rooftop within various Xentro Malls nationwide.

The contract calls for MRC to pay USI at least P200 million for the installation of the initial target capacity. Xentro Mall, which operates community malls nationwide, will identify and nominate the facilities on which the solar rooftop will be built.

MRC described USI as a domestic corporation engaged in the design, global sourcing, local distribution, manufacturing, sales of solar-powered products and the operation and maintenance of solar photovoltaic rooftop systems.

The construction period is set at a maximum of six months from issuance of notice to proceed by MRC to USI.

The operation and maintenance period of the solar PV system is set at 20 years.

Gladys N. Nalda, MRC president and chief executive officer, said the project with USI and Xentro Mall would “solidify” the entry of the company in the solar photovoltaic industry.

“It will also bring the Company closer to its aspirational goal of developing at least 200 MW of clean and renewable energy each year,” she said.

MRC, a property company that diversified into energy development early last year, plans to invest between P80 billion and P100 billion in 10 years to achieve its target of putting up 10,000 MW of power capacity.

On Thursday, shares in MRC rose 8.06% to close at P0.335 each.