MANILA, Philippines — The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) have teamed up to fasttrack transmission and infrastructure developments.
NGCP OIC-president and CEO Anthony Almeda and DPWH Secretary Mark Villar have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) forging a partnership to align and expedite current and future projects.
The MOU will allow the grid operator to co-locate transmission projects with national highways, bridges and access road projects of the DPWH.
“As both NGCP and DPWH are entities which spearhead nation building and national economic growth through infrastructure projects, it is imperative that we institutionalize our coordination efforts, align and synchronize our project planning and execution,” NGCP said.
In earlier meetings, the parties have identified an initial list of 13 DPWH projects which can be aligned and co-located with NGCP projects.
NGCP said the MOU would also pave the way to exploring other possible projects according to the programs of DPWH and NGCP’s Transmission Development Plan (TDP).
“Through the efficient and coordinated use of land, resources and facilities, we will optimize right-of-way (ROW) acquisition activities and ultimately expedite completion of both transmission backbone and road network projects,” it said.
ROW has been among the top problems NGCP is facing. Since 2015, it has been urging Congress to pass a law that will prohibit acts – such as planting tall growing plants, construction of hazardous improvements, preventing or refusing entry to the property for purposes of repair of electric power lines – which will undermine the security and operations of transmission lines.
NGCP, which clinched a 25-year concession to run the country’s power transmission network in 2009, maintains over 20,000 circuit kilometers of transmission lines.