LISTED APC Group Inc. expects to ink an agreement with a still-unidentified foreign partner by March, paving the way for the construction of a $300-million 100-megawatt (MW) geothermal power plant in Northern Luzon, a top company official said on Tuesday.

“We are about to sign the agreements—the farm-in agreement and the joint operating agreement—by next month,” said APC senior vice president and chief financial officer Bernardo Lim in a phone interview.

The venture, which cements APC’s presence in the geothermal power sector, will be 60-percent owned by the foreign operator and 40 percent by APC subsidiary, Aragorn Power and Energy Corp., as well as Philippine company Guidance Management Corp., added Lim.

Following the signing, the venture is expected to start exploration activities within the 26,250-hectare service area within Kalinga-Apayao, which is expected to cost an estimated $40 million. The area is said to have a power generation potential of between 120 MW and 200 MW.

“By early 2017, we will have an operating plant of initially 100 MW,” said the company executive, who declined to name the partner, citing a confidentiality agreement.

Lim said APC will finance its share with assistance from foreign financial entities. It earlier disclosed plans to tap the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank for this purpose.

The company noted that is sticks to its strategy of starting power ventures “from scratch.” This means APC will not bid for contracts of independent power producer administrators, Lim said. The company, however, is keen on bidding for service contracts and is also open for ventures on renewable energy sources like hydro power.

“We prefer new renewable energy projects because of the incentives under the Renewable Energy Act,” said Lim. Government perks include a seven-year income tax holiday, duty-free imports of equipment alongside exemptions from value-added tax.

The power generation sector will likely account for more than half of the company’s earnings in the future, added Lim.

For the first nine months of 2009, APC reported a net income of P32.86 million, reversing an P11.44-million net loss during the same period in 2008. Revenues hit P226.56 million, the bulk of which came from service fees from subsidiary APC Manpower Co.

APC, which is 46.59-percent owned by listed real estate developer Belle Corp, saw its share price close flat yesterday at P0.37 apiece.