Transco to focus on critical transmission line projects

The National Transmission Corp. (Transco) will prioritize three major and critical transmission line projects this year, Transco president Alan T. Ortiz disclosed yesterday.

He said these major projects were discussed during the recent board meeting of the company.

These major projects which are seen to be crucial in the transmission development plan of the company include: Leyte-Cebu interconnection project, Leyte-Bohol interconnection project, Cebu-Mactan interconnection project and Batangas transmission reinforcement project (BTRP).

The Leyte-Cebu project amounting to $68.5 million is scheduled to be auctioned off by June this year. The project will be completed by December 2004.

The Leyte-Bohol contract, on the other hand, was signed on Oct. 30, 2002. The project has a contract duration of 13 months and is targeted for completion by April 2004.

The implementation of the Cebu-Mactan project, meanwhile, was approved by the National Economic Development Authority’s Investment Coordinating Council (ICC) last Jan. 30, 2003. Just like Leyte-Cebu, the project is expected to be subject for bidding on June this year. The project is expected to be completed in May 2005.

The completion of the BTRP, on the other hand, will run from January 2004 to December 2005 for the setting up of the transmission lines and substations.

Specifically, the San Lorenzo to Batangas transmission lines will be completed by January 2004 after the auction was conducted last Jan. 23 this year.

The other BTRP transmission line projects and their projected time of completed are: Batangas to New Makban (December 2004); New Makban to Calamba Tower (June 2004); Calamba Tower to Biñan (August 2004).

The substation projects under the BTRP include the Batangas substation which will be completed by February 2005; New Makban (May 2005) and Biñan (December 2005).

The budget for the Leyte-Bohol, Cebu-Mactan and the BTRP, Ortiz said, will have to be firmed up by the Transco board.

The completion of another critical project, Leyte-Mindanao interconnection project (LMIP), was moved to 2011 based on the latest transmission development plan (TDP). The LMIP was supposed to start a few years back but was delayed due to change of administration.