Iloilo mega dam groundbreaking postponed; Duterte unavailable on Oct. 4

The groundbreaking for the multibillion-peso irrigation project in the town of Calinog, Iloilo province has been postponed.

The event was originally scheduled on October 4, 2018.

The National Irrigation Administration (NIA-6), the lead agency in implementing the P11.2-billion Jalaur River Multipurpose Project Phase II (JRMP II), decided to defer the groundbreaking due to unavailability of President Rodrigo Duterte.

“The President is not available on Oct. 4,” said NIA-6 public information officer Steve Cordero.

NIA-6 has yet to finalize a new schedule for the groundbreaking.

“We hope that the President will be available in November,” Cordero said.

Last Sept. 3, NIA and Korean firm Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd. signed a contract for the construction of the mega dam.

Daewoo is the official contractor of the project.

The JRMP II includes the construction of 109-meter Jalaur high dam, 38.5-meter afterbay dam, 10-meter Alibunan catch dam, 80.74-kilometer high line canal; generation of new areas for irrigation; and rehabilitation of existing irrigation system.

It was first implemented by NIA in the 1960s after the fourth Congress passed Republic Act 2651, which provides for the construction of the JRMP II in Iloilo.

The first phase of the project was completed in the 1980s but its second phase was derailed for over five decades.

The mega dam is funded through an P8.9-billion loan from the Korean Export-Import Bank and the rest is shouldered by the national government.

SOURCE: Iloilo Metropolitan Times

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