KAPANGAN, Benguet – The Cordillera Hydroelectric Power Corporation (COHECO) started the ground works for the full blast construction of its 60-megawatt run-off-river hydro project in barangay Cuba here which is expected to contribute in spurring the socio-economic growth in the host and neighboring communities.
Lawyer Jingboy Atonen, COHECO legal and government relations officer, said contractors have progressed a kilometre away from the highway down to the Amburayan River in barangay Beleng-Belis, part of the 26-kilometer Cuba-Badeo access road committed by the company to constructed linking the towns of Kapangan and Kibungan.
While there were delays in the construction of the access road which will pave the way for the construction of the hydro plant facilities, Atonen claimed the company had to iron out internal and external concerns to ensure the uninterrupted implementation of the hydro project which is now owned by Filipinos who value their partnership with the indigenous peoples (IPs) in the host and neighboring communities.
“We already started test fitting activities along the portion of the access road that was opened by our contractors. We will continue to build the access road up to its end in Badeo to allow the facilities of the hydropower plant to be built along the stretch of the road,” Atonen stressed.
The COHECO official revealed after the completion of approximately three kilometers of the access road, the company will start building the diversion dam or intake weir, slope protection wall for the diversion dam, tunneling activities and continuation of the construction of the access road.
According to him, at the end of the access road in barangay Badeo, the construction of the surge and pressure tanks, penstock, switchyard, among others, will commence while other development activities within the area will be pursued in preparation for the operation of the power facility.
COHECO was able to secure the free and prior informed consent (FPIC) of the IPs in Kibungan and Kapangan for the construction of the 60-megawatt run-off-river hydro project along the Amburayan River in barangay Cuba.
Under the project’s overall plan, the construction of the hydropower plant will be completed within four and a half years to provide additional renewable energy to the grid.
After the company was able to secure the consent of the IPs in both host and neighboring communities, the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples en banc issued the mandatory certificate of pre-condition to the company which served as the go-signal for it to start the development and construction of the power facilities.
COHECO is a Filipino-owned power generation company after its current owners acquired majority ownership of the firm when it bought the majority shares of an enterprising Korean businessman after it secured the consent of the IPs and the required permits from concerned government agencies.
By HENT
