MANILA -- The Marcos administration completed 4,700 flood control projects from July 2022 to 2024 while more than 4,000 are currently being constructed, Malacañang press briefer Daphne Oseña-Paez said on Tuesday.
“Maraming completed projects ang Marcos administration from July 2022 to 2024, mga 4,700 flood control projects have been completed,” Oseña-Paez said during a Palace press briefing.
“There [are] 4,200 ongoing projects including big-ticket projects and then of course some proposed ones are in the line,” she added.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. met with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and other concerned government agencies on Tuesday at the Malacañan Palace to discuss investment opportunities in the water sector.
On the part of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), NIA Administrator Eduardo Guillen said the agency has so far completed three dams. NIA started building them before the coronavirus pandemic.
“So, actually, mabilis lang naman iyon. ‘Yung mga nasa 100 meters na dam kaya nating tapusin iyan ng three years lamang. And of course mayroon din tayong mga 30 meters na dam mga one year to two years lamang po iyan,” Guillen said
“In fact, this month mayroon kaming iti-turnover na mga projects dito sa Bohol. Dito sa may Quezon. Jalaur Dam sa may Iloilo. Sa Ilocos marami kaming natatapos na mga projects na. And of course kapag kailangan natin talaga iyong pangmalakihang solution diyan, iyong mga long-term solution natin, mga high dams talaga,” he said.
The DENR-WRMO, NIA, and other government agencies identified 247 potential water projects that aim to repurpose NIA’s water rights, specifically their excess irrigation water, for other uses without compromising the irrigation requirements of the agricultural sector.
These projects were offered for public private partnerships (PPPs) and presented to local and international stakeholders in the Water Investment Forum held last February.
To date, the government has received more than 90 proposals in the form of letters of interest from local government units and six major water companies. (PND)
