One of Asia's largest independent energy and infrastructure private equity fund managers, Equis Funds Group, has partnered with Philippines-based Asian Greenenergy Corp to build a 12-megawatt (MW) solar plant in Bukidnon, Mindanao.

Asian Greenenergy will partner with Soleq Pte Ltd, a unit of the Singaporean fund manager, as joint venture partner for the project.

Asian Greenenergy is a company owned by former Philippine senator Juan Miguel F. Zubiri.

In a media briefing, Zubiri, who is president of the company, said:

"This project will ease rotating brownouts experienced by the people of Mindanao. Solar is the fastest to build and we can start delivering the initial [four] MW starting September this year."

Soleq is a regional builder, operator and owner of solar plants in Asia and has a portfolio of 110 MW in Thailand alone.

Adam Ballin, Soleq director, said the joint venture will invest $20 million in the Bukidnon solar plant, which will rise in the town of Kibawe.

The renewable energy plant, which is Soleq's maiden project in the Philippines, will connect to the First Bukidnon Electric Cooperative Inc's franchise area.

Ballin said that Equis intends to be a long-term partner of the Philippines in the renewable energy sector.

In February 2014, Equis Funds Group announced it plans to raise US$500 million over the next year to fund solar-energy projects in Japan.