ILOILO – The Oct. 4 groundbreaking for the P11.2-billion Jalaur River Multipurpose Project Phase II (JRMP II) in the municipality of Calinog won’t push through.
President Rodrigo Duterte is not available on that day due to prior commitments, according to National Irrigation Administration (NIA) Region 6 public information officer Steve Cordero.
NIA, the project’s implementing agency, wanted the President to lead the groundbreaking.
JRMP II, said to be the biggest dam outside Luzon, will provide uninterrupted irrigation water to 32,000 hectares of Iloilo farmland, benefit more than 783,000 farmers and increase annual production of rice to 300,000 metric tons from 140,000.
Cordero said NIA hoped to include the mega dam’s groundbreaking in the President’s November schedule of activities.
The signing of the construction contract was already done – on Sept. 3 at the NIA Complex in Quezon City.
Once completed, this large-scale reservoir dam will ensure farmers with a consistent third cropping each year.
JRMP II includes the construction of 109-meter Jalaur high dam; a 38.5-meter afterbay dam; a 10-meter Alibunan catch dam; a 80.74-kilometer high line canal; generation of new areas for irrigation; and rehabilitation of existing irrigation system.
South Korea’s Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd. is the project contractor./PN
