Aboitiz vows additional investments to upgrade CBK hydro complex

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February 10, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — The Aboitiz Group has committed to ramping up investments to upgrade and optimize the Caliraya-Botocan-Kalayaan (CBK) hydropower complex in Laguna following its turnover from the government.

“We promise not only to take care of it, but invest to improve and maximize its operations and squeeze every megawatt (MW),” Aboitiz Group president and CEO Sabin Aboitiz said during the ceremonial turnover yesterday.

“This plant is more than a power facility. It’s a strategic asset. It provides flexibility, stability and resilience in a rapidly changing energy system,” Aboitiz said.

President Marcos led the official transfer of the CBK complex to the Aboitiz-led Thunder Consortium, which secured the asset by submitting the highest bid in last year’s auction.

The Aboitiz Group, through Aboitiz Renewables Inc., holds a controlling 64-percent stake in the consortium, which also includes Japan’s Sumitomo Corp. and Electric Power Development Co. Ltd.

“With this privatization, completed through the successful bid of over P36.27 billion, the government is able to unlock significant resources while ensuring the continued operation of a strategically important energy asset,” Marcos said.

“In doing so, the government can invest where it matters most –  in our people. Particularly, these resources can be directed toward the immediate needs of the public, such as for classrooms, for roads and for hospitals,” he said.

With an overall capacity of 797 MW, CBK utilizes three hydropower technologies including pumped storage hydro, impoundment and run-of-river systems.

The 39.3-MW Caliraya plant in Lumban consists of two generating units that draw water from the upstream Caliraya reservoir, while the 22.96-MW Botocan run-of-river facility is the country’s oldest hydro plant.

The 734.36-MW Kalayaan plant, meanwhile, is the Philippines’ first and only operational pumped storage hydro facility.

The facility acts like a giant rechargeable battery that uses electricity to pump water during low energy demand and releases water to generate power during high demand.

“Together, they form a system designed not just to generate power but to balance the supply and demand across the entire power system,” Marcos said, highlighting CBK’s vital role in supporting grid stability in Luzon.

“And as investments are made to modernize and improve these facilities, these benefits will extend beyond just the grid and create an impact in the lives of our fellow Filipinos,” the President said.

CBK was a major privatization project of state-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. and regarded as a key source of the government’s non-tax revenues.