BALANGA, Bataan – Power grid operator and transmission services provider National Grid Power Corporation (NGCP) strengthened its campaign for environmental preservation as it launched its first-ever Adopt-A-Highway program along the SCTEx recently.
Ernest Vidal, Regional Corporate Communication officer, said that “In partnership with the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA), the program aims to support the climate change initiative and the greening program of the Philippine government by protecting and maintaining NGCP’s planted seedlings along SCTEX which, to date, is the longest expressway in the country, that stretches 90.6 kilometers from Tipo, Subic, Zambales to La Paz, Tarlac.”
The program kicked off with the planting of 1,000 gmelina and mahogany seedlings to cover one hectare of SCTEX Cloverleaf Interchange at Mabalacat, Pampanga. To ensure the growth and survival of the trees, NGCP also allotted budget for fertilizers and truck watering facilities.
“NGCP has always been a steadfast supporter of DENR’s greening program. Having declared 2014 as NGCP’s Environmental Awareness Year, NGCP took this opportunity to aid the implementation of the program. The trees will help reduce carbon dioxide emission of vehicles, reduce solar glare and solar radiation, and serve as windbreak and natural habitat for birds,” explains NGCP President and CEO Henry Sy, Jr.
By 2015, an additional 5,000 tree seedlings will be planted along the 15-kilometer stretch of SCTEX in Tarlac. “There have been many tree-planting activities along SCTEX but this is the first time that a portion of the highway will be adopted. The government deeply appreciates NGCP’s effort to help create an aesthetically pleasing highway,” says Mr. Jorge Z. Turbolencia, Assistant Head of PMO, BCDA.
NGCP is a privately owned corporation in charge of operating, maintaining, and developing the country’s power grid. It transmits high-voltage electricity through “power superhighways” that include the interconnected system of transmission lines, towers, substations, and related assets. The consortium holds the 25-year concession to operate the country’s power transmission network and is comprised of Monte Oro Grid Resources Corp., led by Henry Sy, Jr., Calaca High Power Corporation, led by Robert Coyiuto, Jr., and the State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC) as technical partner.
As a corporation with a public service orientation, NGCP partners with relevant institutions to support the communities hosting its transmission facilities, which it considers as true partners in nation-building.
