Aboitiz unit building $47.1-M hydro plant in Isabela

ITOGON, Benguet, Philippines – SN Aboitiz Power-Magat Inc. (SNAP-Magat), a unit of Aboitiz Power Corp., is spending $47.1 million to develop the 8.5-megawatt (MW) Maris South Canal (MSC) hydroelectric power plant in Isabela.

SNAP-Magat said the project will be developed as a run-of-river plant.

The MSC hydroelectric power plant is covered by a memorandum of agreement with the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), the government agency that owns and the operates Magat and Maris dams.

The plant will generate additional electricity for the Luzon grid by utilizing the irrigation flow from Maris Reservoir into Maris Main (South) Diversion Canal.

It will also use the same irrigation water released from the Maris Reservoir for the Maris Main (South) Diversion Canal and will not affect the current irrigation water supply.  

SNAP-Magat said the project is expected to be completed in November 2017.

To fulfill environmental compliance certificate (ECC) requirements, the company has formed a monitoring team for the MSC hydroelectric power plant. 

The firm said the Multipartite Monitoring Team (MMT) is an ECC requirement for its ongoing construction of the power plant along the Maris Main (South) Canal in Ramon, Isabela.

The MMT consists of 11 members from SNAP-Magat, Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environment Management Bureau Region 2, Department of Agriculture Region 2, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Region 2, Environment and Natural Resources Office (ENRO) of the Provincial Government of Isabela, National Irrigation Administration-Magat River Integrated Irrigation System (NIA-MARIIS), CENRO-San Isidro, BLGU of Ambatali, MLGU of Ramon, As part of its general responsibility, the MMT has conducted its first ocular inspection at the project site in Brgy. Ambatali, Ramon, Isabela.