CAPIZ – The groundbreaking for the Bayuyan Small Reservoir Irrigation Project (SRIP) was conducted by the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) in Barangay Bayuyan, President Roxas town.
NIA acting administrator Eduardo Eddie Guillen and Gov. Fredenil Castro led the ceremony.
The construction of the P664.750-million Bayuyan SRIP is expected to benefit 477 farmers, tilling 594 hectares of riceland.
Guillen said the Bayuyan SRIP will also lessen flooding in the municipality. The irrigation dam, once completed and operational, can store 1.09 million cubic meters of water.
The project is expected to be completed by 2025.
It is NIA’s biggest irrigation project in the province so far and includes the construction of a 29.72-meter-high zoned earthfill dam and appurtenant structure, and a terruvian dam across the Barangay Goce River.
The project aims to harness the full potential of the Bayuyan and Goce rivers as sources of water for irrigation and fish culture, increase agricultural production, create employment opportunities, and improve affected communities.
The grounbreaking was also graced by local government officials of President Roxas, led by Mayor Receliste Escolin, who said they would ask the help of concerned national government agencies to develop the irrigation dam site as a local tourist attraction.
Bayuyan is home to the famous Liktinon Falls, a few kilometers away from the NIA project. (PIA)/PN
