Ilocos Norte gets P4.5-M bond for Bangui wind farm’s expansion project

By Leilanie G. Adriano

Staff reporter

Laoag City—The amount of P4.5 million was transferred to the account of Ilocos Norte provincial government as performance bond for the installation of six additional wind turbines. The additional turbines, with a total capacity of 18-megawatt, is for the expansion project of Southeast Asia’s first windmill farm in Bangui Bay.

The existing 20 wind turbines, each capable of producing electricity a maximum capacity of 1.65 MW will soon be have additional six more wind turbines. The newer turbines has a maximum capacity of 3 MW each.

The Sangguniang Panlalawigan has already endorsed the project’s phase III after the Northwind Power Development Corporation (NPDC) agreed to comply with a new provincial ordinance mandating all investors in the province to submit their Corporate Social Responsibility projects prior to endorsement of the provincial board.

On July 21, the board passed a resolution condemning the acts of large investors like NPDC for their apparent failure to comply with the CSR ordinance prior to the commencement of their project’s phase III.

The NPDC through its President Ferdinand Dumlao, however, was quick to explain that they were not aware of the CSR ordinance and if they were informed earlier, they would have complied to avoid delay in the project which should have been completed in the middle of 2014.

The NPDC then issued a letter of apology dated July 22 to the SP, acknowledging their lapses.

“It’s nice to hear from them and they admitted their mistake. This should serve as a signal for other investors to comply with the CSR ordinance,” SP member Da Vinci Crisostomo said.

With this development, NPDC’s contractor, Scan Global Philippines Inc. has been permitted to push through with its landing of barges at the newly constructed beaching facility at Barangay Caruan in Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte.

Amidst the issuance of permit by the Philippine Ports Authority, the transport of the wind turbine accessories were halted for their non-compliance of the ordinance.

The construction of a beaching facility by the contractor was earlier approved by the PPA in neighboring Burgos town particularly in front of the Anara-ar beach along the national highway in the coastal Barangay Bayog but the Burgos local government, through Burgos Mayor Cresente Garcia and the police stopped Scan Global for its failure to show any permit from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

This prompted the contractor to move the construction of a landing facility in Pasuquin town instead.

Aside from the P4.5 million performance bond, NPDC has committed a total of P7.2 worth of CSR project for the phase III completion of the Bangui bay wind power farm.

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