Bangsamoro power deal forged

The National Electrification Administration has inked a deal with a Japanese supplier for a 771-million yen (about P375 million) project to improve the power distribution system in the Bangsamoro area.

NEA administrator Edgardo Masongsong said in a statement Osaka-based general trading firm Nishizawa Ltd. had submitted the best offer among five bidders for the Japan International Cooperation Agency-funded “Project for Improvement of Equipment for Power Distribution in Bangsamoro Area.”

Nishizawa won a contract for the provision of power supplies—including 425 units of transformers as well as poles and wires—and 16 brand-new boom trucks that will be used to rehabilitate the networks of six electric cooperatives operating in Mindanao.

Nishizawa will also be in charge of the implementation of training, focusing on the handling of insulated wire and operation training of the boom trucks.

The utilities that will benefit from the project include Lanao del Sur Electric Cooperative, Maguindanao Electric Cooperative, Basilan Electric Cooperative, Sulu Electric Cooperative, Tawi-Tawi Electric Cooperative, and Siasi Electric Cooperative.

“The Philippine government through NEA expresses deep appreciation to the Japanese government through JICA for its immediate response to the call of President Duterte to help the country’s electrification program in the rural ARMM (Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao),” Masongsong said.

“The assistance will further the development of the ARMM, especially the Basulta (Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi) area which had been identified by the President as a priority for socioeconomic development,” he said.