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Monday, March 20, 2006
P8.56 million approved for Mindanao power project
THE Investment Coordination Committee-Cabinet Committee (ICC-CC) has approved the funding of the Abaga-Kirahon-Maramag (Pulangi)-Bunawan 230 KV Power Transmission Project in a meeting held on March 6.
National Transmission Corporation (TransCo) president Dr. Allan Ortiz announced this to the Mindanao stakeholders during a consultation Friday at The Marco Polo Hotel on the status of power projects in the island.
Ortiz said the ICC-CC finally approved the funding after recognizing the economic viability of the project and its importance in ensuring the continuous availability of sufficient, reliable and accessible power supply in Mindanao.
In a letter, dated March 7 and signed by Secretary Romulo Neri, it states that the ICC-CC-approved cost is P8,559.9 million, P5,054.02 million of which is the loan proceeds and P3,505.88 million is the counterpart of the government.
Neri in his letter to Ortiz also reminded Transco that prior to the implementation of the project, it would secure the environmental compliance certificate (ECC) for the Kirahon-Maramag section from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources of Northern Mindanao region.
The business sector who had been clamoring for a steady supply of power as demand for electricity continues to increase, are optimistic that the completion of the project will spur economic development in the area.
An economic growth between five to six percent is expected and that power requirement will change dramatically within the next five years especially with the development of the East Asian Growth Triangle.
When the 230 KV power transmission project along Abaga-Kirahon-Maramag (Pulangi)-Bunawan gets operational it will transport excess power towards Southern Mindanao where demand for power is high.
Fund components of the project include the Abaga-Kirahon costing P3.381 million, Kirahon-Maramag, P2.104 million and Maramag-Bunawan, P2.663 million.
Ortiz said with the completion of the project there would be unrestrained power flow from various generating plants in Northern Mindanao towards the major bulk power delivery ports.
The sufficient transmission capacity can withstand any abnormal condition thus preventing occurrence of cascaded tripping that usually leads to system blackout.
The project is crucial to the full implementation of the Open Access Transmission Service by the time Mindanao Grid is ready for the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market, which is the centerpiece of the power industry degeneration.
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (March 20, 2006 issue)
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