22 August 2013 – The Philippine Embassy in Pretoria sent a consular team to the distant area bordering the provinces of Free State and Kwazulu-Natal to provide mobile passport services to Filipino workers at the site of the Ingula Pumped Storage Scheme (IPSS) from August 17 to 18 August.

Located in a mountainous area about 400 kilometers from Pretoria, IPSS consists of dams, waterways, turbines and transmission lines expected to generate an additional 1,332 megawatts of electricity for the South African national power grid. Work on the facility started in 2007 and it is expected to come on-line between 2013 and 2014. The project currently employs close to 200 Filipino skilled workers as welders, fabricators, and crane operators, among others.

The consular team consisted of Consul Joselito Chad Jacinto and Messrs. Rommel Bermas, Victor Atangan and Leopoldo Padilla. END