THE National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) said it is closer to completing the Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Project (MVIP) as it breaks ground the cable terminal stations in Dapitan City and Cebu.

The cable terminal stations serve as the landing points of the two 92-kilometer submarine cables which will carry around 450 megawatts (MW) of power from the Visayas and Mindanao, and vice versa.

"This is just the first in a long series of small achievements towards the successful completion of this project,” the NGCP said in a statement.

“We are confident that the NGCP team will exhibit the commitment and skills needed to push the project and realize the interconnected transmission network within the committed timeframe,” it adds.

Approved in 2017, the MVIP is considered the biggest power infrastructure project in the history of the country.

Apart from the submarine cables and cable terminal stations, the P52 billion-project also entails the installation of 526 circuit-kilometers of overhead transmission lines, high-voltage direct current converter stations, and various upgrades to substations in both regions.

In May 2018, the Department of Energy also certified the MVIP as an Energy Project of national significance, to streamline and expedite the needed documents for the construction and completion of the project.

The MVIP will reportedly traverse 35 villages across the four provinces in Visayas and Mindanao.

With a unified Philippine power grid, the country is expected to benefit from a safer and reliable grid with less power interruptions, and efficient use of energy resources nationwide.