South Korean firm Hydro Zeal Energy Development Corp. is proposing to build a 150-megawatt hydroelectric project in Nakar town in Quezon province.
Hydro Zeal Energy and the local government unit (LGU) of Nakar have signed a memorandum of agreement for a joint venture to construct and operate a hydro-electric plant in Kanan River, which is within the LGU’s jurisdiction.
Hydro Zeal Energy president Evangeline T. Patanao and Nakar Mayor Eliseo R. Ruzol signed the joint venture agreement
According to the agreement, both parties have made a covenant to “maximize utilization of the town’s labor force and prime up local employment opportunities; reduce the power costs of the municipality’s households through subsidies and preferential pricing scheme; provide adequate safeguards for the protection, maintenance and development of watershed surrounding the project site; and, develop road networks leading to the project site, thereby uplifting the economic opportunities and social benefits of the affected barangays,” among other terms.
The two-pronged joint venture seeks to address the need to ensure ample water supply and households’ electricity in the LGU, the MOA stated. It has a 25-year life span but may be renewed subject to mutual talks, according to the MOA.
The Hydro Zeal-Nakar Project jibes with the “green lanes” investment pitch made by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in his second State of the Nation Address on July 24.
The so-called “green lanes” strategic investment embodied in Executive Order 18 and signed in February, targets to realize P1.5 trillion in
new investments this year, according to the Department of Trade and Industry. It acts as an investor magnet by facilitating business
ventures and streamlining the red tape or bureaucratic procedures.
Earlier before the second presidential SONA, a solar power project became the first to fall in line for the “green lanes” strategy. Hydro
Zeal Energy also lined up to be recognized as “green lanes” investor.