NIA identifies 50 potential projects for public-private partnership

The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) on Thursday said it has identified 50 potential projects for public-private partnerships (PPP).

In a statement, the NIA said it signed a memorandum of agreement with the PPP Center on March 29 as it aims to maximize the utilization of its assets and irrigation projects for potential partnerships with the private sector.

The agency identified 50 potential projects for PPP has seven revenue streams, namely, hydroelectric power, solar power, aquaculture, wind energy, bulk water supply, water treatment, and carbon credits.

The NIA partnership with the PPP Center aims to maximize the technical services of the latter in terms of capacity-building for the utilization of various PPP modalities for irrigation projects, to obtain the optimal value of NIA’s resources through PPP and to engage in other financial and revenue-generating activities that will strengthen the Agency’s viability as a government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC).

The NIA said that, as of December 31, 2021, 65.28% of the total 3.12 million hectares of irrigable land nationwide have been developed.

With around 1 million hectares remaining to be developed, the agency said the government aims to revitalize the country’s irrigation sector.

“Thus, NIA eyes PPP to fast-track irrigation development which will further sustain the irrigation needs of greater Filipino farmers and will ultimately answer the President's call to strengthen food security,” it said.

“PPP is not new in NIA,” it said.

The NIA said the Casecnan Multipurpose Irrigation and Power Project (CMIPP) located in Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija is a PPP project implemented by the agency.

The project generates electricity through the 150-megawatt hydroelectric power plant and diverts water through a 26.27-kilometer underground tunnel into the Pantabangan Reservoir. —NB, GMA Integrated News