Safely delivering Philippines combined cycle plant

For everyone associated with the Batangas Combined Cycle Power Plant project, recording more than 19.8 million man-hours without a single lost-time incident was a proud achievement, marking a significant milestone and commitment to workplace safety and employee well-being.

It’s always heartening when more than 4,000 people on a construction site go home safely to their families and loved ones. This was the case every day from commencement right through the peak of construction at the Batangas Combined Cycle Power Plant in the Philippines.

This accomplishment reflects the dedication and shared commitment from all parties – San Miguel Global Power, Black & Veatch, partners, and subcontractors – that valued safety and empowered teams to embrace a strong safety culture; delivering what is the country’s first major LNG-to-power facility and largest combined cycle power plant ever built, nestled within the tight confines of a surrounding mountain and built to a demanding schedule that began during the peak of pandemic.

“It is truly remarkable what San Miguel Global Power and the Black & Veatch team have achieved,” said Narsingh Chaudhary, President, Fuels & Natural Resources and President, Asia Pacific and India, Black & Veatch. “We are grateful for the opportunity to work on such a transformative project that has not only delivered reliable, baseload power to support economic growth but has set a benchmark for keeping people safe during construction.”

Delivering large, transformative infrastructure is a complex undertaking presenting inherent safety risks from factors such as working from height, operation of heavy machinery, moving or falling objects, burns and electric shocks, and even slips, trips and falls.

Embedding a strong and pervasive safety culture is key in the planning and execution of major power facilities. Well-planned and safe projects result in better commercial outcomes for owners, helping to consistently meet scheduled milestones.

“The one thing I’d like everyone to take away from this project is that it is possible to deliver complex projects safely with challenging schedules in the Philippines,” said Doug Robless, Site Manager, Black & Veatch. “This is made possible through the right leadership and mindsets at the top, matched with the right collaboration and behaviors across all parties.”

Combined cycle power plant features

• Facility:

  The new 3 x 425 (net)-megawatt (MW) net H-class CCPP, including an associated substation, is the Philippines’ first major LNG-to-power project. Black & Veatch delivered three blocks of one-on-one configuration of SGT6-8000H units. The site is adjacent to new LNG terminal infrastructures.

• Construction feats:

  The facility is built on a constrained location at the side of a hill next to the sea. Over 7 months, 3.3 million cubic meters of soil was moved to create four terraced elevations from 8 meters to 33 meters above sea level to accommodate the turbine blocks, balance of plant facilities, pumping station and other facilities.

• Black & Veatch services:

  Self-perform Engineering, Procurement, Construction (EPC) and Startup/Commissioning at the entire greenfield power facility.

• Crunching the numbers:

  19.8 million man-hours equates to one professional working 10,879 years (an 8-hour day for 52 5-day weeks) without recording a lost-time incident.

Black & Veatch as the topline Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractor commissioned the facility in early 2025. The power plant provides 1,275 (net) megawatts of clean, reliable, and affordable baseload electricity, complementing the nation’s increasing deployment of renewable energy and serving as an important cornerstone to enable the country’s energy transition.