SORSOGON CITY—The Philippine National Oil Co.-Energy Development Corp  (PNOC-EDC) is all set for the implementation of a P6.6-billion energy-exploration project on a vast geothermal-rich field in the nearby Manito town of the province of Albay.

Dubbed as Kayabon Geothermal Project (KGP), the exploration that is expected to yield some 40-megawatt  (MW) power would be initiated by the PNOC-EDC within an over 200-hectare area covered by barangays Nagotgot and Pawa of Manito, a fourth-class coastal town at the southeastern side of Albay.

The project site is adjacent to the existing 110-MW PNOC-EDC Bacon-Manito Geothermal Production Field (BacMan) in an about 400-hectare land within a massive forest reservation area covered by Mount Inang Maharang at the boundaries of this city and Manito.

BacMan general manager Buddy Virata said last week that the project has been officially endorsed by the barangay councils of the two villages as well as by the municipal government of Manito.

The Albay Provincial Development Council (PDC) last week also approved the exploration, drilling and resource assessment on the potential and development of the Mount Kayabon area, Virata said.

Albay Gov. Joey Salceda, who chairs the PDC, in a press statement over the weekend said “this P6.6-billion energy project is the largest single investment in the history of Albay, indicating that the province will soon rise to be at the economic helm of developing provinces.”

It is also a milestone energy project that would place the province in the mainstream of top geothermal- energy providers in the country, Salceda said.

The project would also make Albay, energy-sufficient as it could reinforce the existing 125-MW geothermal energy plant being operated by the National Power Corp. (NPC) in Tiwi town whose output is being supplied to the Luzon Power  Grid, he said.

Besides, Salceda said, the PDC readily approved the project as it is consistent with the energy-development plan of the government that recognizes geothermal energy as a clean energy that is compliant with the climate change-adaptation policy of the province.

The P6.6-billion investment involved in the project would also boost the economy of Albay with the multi-million-peso revenue it should remit to the local coffers  representing royalties and realty taxes, he added.

PNOC president Paul Aquino in a separate statement said that in compliance with Energy Regulation 1-94 and the provisions of the Local Government Code of 1991, KGP would give Albay province, the municipality of Manito and the two barangays hosting the project a total of P34 million in royalties and real property taxes yearly.

The amount would represent the 40-percent share of host local government units (LGUs) from gross collections derived by the national government from royalties and taxes in the utilization and development of national wealth, Aquino said.

Apart from those proceeds for LGUs, the entire project would also hire about 2,200 skilled and nonskilled workers to benefit from the P915-million total compensation, he said.     

Another benefit is the road network that will be constructed by PNOC between the project sites and the existing road arteries in the area that, apart from serving as transportation access for the project, would also serve as farm-to-market roads, easing the burden from LGUs of constructing the same structures for communities in the area, Aquino said.

The project is composed of three components to be completed in at least three years before commercial operations. Aquino said  the first phase that is exploration and drilling of six steam wells will be started by September this year. The next phases are steam production and the setting up of a power plant that will convert geothermal energy to electricity.

Each well would be worth P220 million and all of them will be drilled in areas of Mount Kayabon within barangays Nagotgot and Pawa, he added.

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SORSOGON CITY—The Philippine National Oil Co.-Energy Development Corp  (PNOC-EDC) is all set for the implementation of a P6.6-billion energy-exploration project on a vast geothermal-rich field in the nearby Manito town of the province of Albay.

THE National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) Cabinet Committee (CabCom) has approved P2.99 billion worth of new infrastructure projects.

A TOP German social democrat called on the Philippines and Southeast Asian economies to ensure social justice and economic security to their people while engaging with  open markets and a multilateral-trading system.