CAGAYAN de Oro City Councilor Enrico Salcedo, who chairs the environment panel, confirmed the development in a text message today, Dec. 10.
The project, spearheaded by the company’s subsidiary First Gen San Isidro Hydro Power Corp., was approved by Salcedo’s committee after a hearing on Nov. 21.
It is now being forwarded to the legal committee for the next stage of legislative review.
The San Isidro proposal is part of First Gen’s expansion of run-of-river hydroelectric assets in Northern Mindanao. It will be straddling the boundary between Talakag, Bukidnon, and Barangay Mambuaya of Cagayan de Oro City.
The project utilizes run-of-river technology, which differs significantly from traditional large dams. Instead of storing vast amounts of water in a reservoir, these plants divert a portion of the river flow through a channel to spin turbines, returning the water downstream with minimal environmental disruption.
Salcedo indicated that the endorsement to the Committee on Laws and Rules is the final hurdle before the project can be presented to the plenary for full council approval.
