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Bataan Nuclear Power Plant
The Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) is a nuclear power plant on the Bataan Peninsula, 100 kilometers (62 mi) west of Manila, Philippines. Completed but never fueled, it is located on a 3.57 km2 (1.38 sq mi) government reservation at Napot Point in Barangay Nagbalayong, Morong, Bataan. It was the Philippines' only attempt at building a nuclear power plant. It was mothballed due to safety concerns in the wake of the Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine in 1986 and issues regarding corruption in the Philippines.
In 1958, the Philippine nuclear program started with the creation of the Philippine Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC). In July 1973, under a regime of martial law, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos announced the decision to build a nuclear power plant. A presidential committee was set up to secure funding for two 620 megawatt nuclear reactors for the energy needs of Luzon. Marcos reasoned that this was in response to the 1973 oil crisis, as the Middle East oil embargo had put a heavy strain on the Philippine economy.
Two proposals were submitted by General Electric and Westinghouse Electric. General Electric submitted a proposal containing detailed specifications of the nuclear plant and an estimated US$700 million cost. Westinghouse submitted a lower cost estimate of US$500 million, but the proposal did not contain any detail or specification. The presidential committee tasked to oversee the project preferred General Electric's proposal. This was overruled by Marcos in June 1974, who signed a letter of intent awarding the project to Westinghouse, despite the absence of any specifications on their proposal. Similarly, Marcos disregarded the advice of the National Power Corporation, the government-owned and controlled corporation responsible for electricity in the Philippines.
The project was plagued with problems during construction, including the location, welding, cabling, pipes and valves, permits, and kickbacks, and setbacks such as the decline of Marcos's influence and the incident at the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor. By March 1975, Westinghouse's cost estimate ballooned to US$1.2 billion without much explanation. The final cost was $2.2 billion for a single reactor, producing half the power of the original proposal.
Many problems identified in earlier stages remained throughout construction, as reported by inspectors, though denied by Westinghouse. In 1976, the Philippine economy only had a GDP of US$17 billion and a government budget of US$1.5 billion. As such, the burden to the economy for a single project was deemed too heavy.[citation needed] The power plant would be responsible for 10% of the Philippine's external debt.
The Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) later ordered Marcos crony Herminio Disini to return US$50.6 million in commissions he earned from the deal. Marcos received US$80 million in kickback from the project. The Office of the Solicitor General ruled that Marcos return ₱22.2 billion to the government for his conspiracy with Disini to defraud the government. In 2021, the Supreme Court of the Philippines ordered Disini, through his estate, to pay back the government over ₱1 billion in damages, affirming a 2012 Sandiganbayan decision.
In August 2023, the Supreme Court of the Philippines reduced from ₱1 billion to ₱100 million the temperate damages that Herminio T. Disini estate must pay for brokering the 1974 deal behind the now mothballed $2.3-billion Bataan Nuclear Power Plant.
In 1976, construction on the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant began. Following the 1979 Three Mile Island accident in the United States, construction on the BNPP was stopped, and a safety inquiry into the plant revealed over 4,000 defects. Among the issues raised was that it was built near a major geological fault line and close to the then dormant Mount Pinatubo.
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Bataan Nuclear Power Plant
The Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) is a nuclear power plant on the Bataan Peninsula, 100 kilometers (62 mi) west of Manila, Philippines. Completed but never fueled, it is located on a 3.57 km2 (1.38 sq mi) government reservation at Napot Point in Barangay Nagbalayong, Morong, Bataan. It was the Philippines' only attempt at building a nuclear power plant. It was mothballed due to safety concerns in the wake of the Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine in 1986 and issues regarding corruption in the Philippines.
In 1958, the Philippine nuclear program started with the creation of the Philippine Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC). In July 1973, under a regime of martial law, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos announced the decision to build a nuclear power plant. A presidential committee was set up to secure funding for two 620 megawatt nuclear reactors for the energy needs of Luzon. Marcos reasoned that this was in response to the 1973 oil crisis, as the Middle East oil embargo had put a heavy strain on the Philippine economy.
Two proposals were submitted by General Electric and Westinghouse Electric. General Electric submitted a proposal containing detailed specifications of the nuclear plant and an estimated US$700 million cost. Westinghouse submitted a lower cost estimate of US$500 million, but the proposal did not contain any detail or specification. The presidential committee tasked to oversee the project preferred General Electric's proposal. This was overruled by Marcos in June 1974, who signed a letter of intent awarding the project to Westinghouse, despite the absence of any specifications on their proposal. Similarly, Marcos disregarded the advice of the National Power Corporation, the government-owned and controlled corporation responsible for electricity in the Philippines.
The project was plagued with problems during construction, including the location, welding, cabling, pipes and valves, permits, and kickbacks, and setbacks such as the decline of Marcos's influence and the incident at the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor. By March 1975, Westinghouse's cost estimate ballooned to US$1.2 billion without much explanation. The final cost was $2.2 billion for a single reactor, producing half the power of the original proposal.
Many problems identified in earlier stages remained throughout construction, as reported by inspectors, though denied by Westinghouse. In 1976, the Philippine economy only had a GDP of US$17 billion and a government budget of US$1.5 billion. As such, the burden to the economy for a single project was deemed too heavy.[citation needed] The power plant would be responsible for 10% of the Philippine's external debt.
The Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) later ordered Marcos crony Herminio Disini to return US$50.6 million in commissions he earned from the deal. Marcos received US$80 million in kickback from the project. The Office of the Solicitor General ruled that Marcos return ₱22.2 billion to the government for his conspiracy with Disini to defraud the government. In 2021, the Supreme Court of the Philippines ordered Disini, through his estate, to pay back the government over ₱1 billion in damages, affirming a 2012 Sandiganbayan decision.
In August 2023, the Supreme Court of the Philippines reduced from ₱1 billion to ₱100 million the temperate damages that Herminio T. Disini estate must pay for brokering the 1974 deal behind the now mothballed $2.3-billion Bataan Nuclear Power Plant.
In 1976, construction on the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant began. Following the 1979 Three Mile Island accident in the United States, construction on the BNPP was stopped, and a safety inquiry into the plant revealed over 4,000 defects. Among the issues raised was that it was built near a major geological fault line and close to the then dormant Mount Pinatubo.
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