From the minimum of $9 million CIP money that CNMI receives annually under Section 702 of Covenant, only $3 million has been remitted so far, Variety was told.
Press Secretary Angel A. Demapan said the $6 million in undisbursed CIP funds will be used for various projects like the Tinian landfill, the Rota landfill, Saipan solid waste management, infrastructure maintenance, CIP administration and the proposed geothermal assessment project.
Demapan said the CNMI government also plans to use portions of the $6 million for the Puerto Rico dump closure and the maintenance of the Marpi landfill.
The administration wants to conduct geothermal assessment in an effort to make affordable energy available to the people of the commonwealth, he added.
Vice Speaker Felicidad T. Ogumoro, Covenant-Saipan, said she would like to see the administration’s priority list.
She said she would suggest that once the CNMI receives the remaining CIP funds, “we take care of the Commonwealth Utilities Corp,’s problems.”
Getting renewable energy for the power plants, she said, should be the top priority.
