By MARIVIC OMANDAM DAVIS MindaNews

ILIGAN City — The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) energized last week the P52billion Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Project (MVIP), an undertaking that the power firm expects to improve power stability and reliability across the country.

AVAO City –Mindanao has once more demonstrated its worth as a key contributor to the country's economic growth by posting 7.2 percent Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) last year. In a statement Wednesday, the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) pointed to the "much-improved peace and order" situation in Mindanao in recent years as one of the main contributing factors to the island region’s economic growth. Despite the challenges posed by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, MinDA pointed out that Mindanao has shown resilience and adaptability in its economic activities, thereby attracting more investors and tourists to the area. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), inHUGYAW SA KADAGATAN. Barangay Libertad in Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte parades their raft that bagged the top prize during the town’s Hugyaw sa Kadagatan Festival marking the town’s 75th founding anniversary and Feast of San Vicente Ferrer on April 25, 2023. MindaNews photo by RICHEL V. UMEL

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An initial load of 22.5 megawatts (MW) was carried by the high-voltage submarine and overhead lines from Mindanao to Visayas during its energization on 30 April 2023.

“We expect to gradually increase the MVIP’s transfer capacity to 50MW by midMay, and 112MW by the end of the month, before energizing to its full transfer capacity of 450MW by the third quarter of this year,” the company said in a press release on Wednesday.

The MVIP is comprised of a 184 circuit-kilometer (ckm) High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) submarine transmission line connecting the power grids of Mindanao and Visayas with a transfer capacity of 450MW