ILOILO – To attain food security and manage inflation, the construction of the Jalaur River Multi-purpose Project Stage II (JRMP II) in Calinog, Iloilo is being expedited.
Former Ilonggo senator Franklin Drilon ordered the project manager to double efforts to hasten the completion of the biggest dam outside Luzon.
Drilon, with Engr. Jonel Borres, National Irrigation Administration (NIA) Region 6 acting regional manager and JRMP II project manager, held a site inspection yesterday afternoon.
“Today, this project will respond to that need to provide our people with food security. That is why I just had a meeting with the project manager of the Daewoo contractor, and I emphasized to them that we need the project’s early completion. They committed to doubling their effort to complete this project as soon as possible because it is critical to achieving or overcoming the challenges that we face, particularly food security and addressing the inflation or the high prices,” said Drilon in a press conference.
Drilon and Borres met with Project Manager Yongoo Lee, Deputy Project Manager Wonmoo Sim and Hyunduk Seo, finance manager of Daewoo Engineering and Construction Co. Ltd., contractor of the JRMP II project.
According to Drilon, operating the dams is pivotal to achieving food security and again becoming a rice-exporting province.
“Iloilo used to be the rice granary of the country. Today, we no longer enjoy the status. But once the dams are completed and fully functional, from the present 100,040 metric tons of palay, it would increase to 300,000 metric tons per year. Therefore, not only will we be sufficient, but we will also be an exporting province,” he added.
In its forthcoming operation, JRMP II is expected to increase rice production in the province to 338,874 metric tons per year, equivalent to a 71.54 percent increase from the current output of 197,545 metric tons.
Drilon was among those who lobbied for the JRMP II project.
What is the status of Jalaur dam?
According to Borres, the contractor is working double time to hopefully operate the dam by 2025, although it is not 100 percent fully operational.
Weather conditions hamper the continuous construction of the distribution canals going to the irrigation systems, most of which are located in the new open areas, and the elevation is below the surface or ground level, he added.
“The target of our operation is 2025 we are still on track but we cannot assure of a 100 percent operation,” said Borres.
This as the project has significantly accomplished most of its major structures specifically the dams located in Calinog town.
As of September this year, the overall physical accomplishment of the JRMP II is at 69.23 percent with two out of the three dams substantially completed.
Works are also ongoing in the municipalities of Calinog, Lambunao, Janiuay, and Cabatuan for the 80-kilometer High Line Canal which is part of the project’s irrigation component.
This High Line Canal will serve as conveyance structure connecting the Jalaur Afterbay Dam to the main and lateral canals.
The Jalaur High Dam, the reservoir dam of the project which is expected to store volume of water estimated at 250.70 million cubic meters, is already 106-meter high out of its structural height of 109 meters. Located in Barangays Agcalaga and Alibunan in the Municipality of Calinog, the High Dam will ensure year-round irrigation water supply to 31, 840 hectares of farmlands in the Province of Iloilo.
On the other hand, the Jalaur Afterbay Dam which is the regulating dam of the project is
substantially completed at 38.5 meters high.
Remaining works include the construction of the JRMP II operations building located near the Afterbay Dam.
Meanwhile, the Project Management Office (PMO) also ensures the construction of the JRMP II Indigenous Peoples (IP) Housing is not being left behind.
Co-financed by the National Housing Authority (NHA) and NIA, the IP Housing is now 95 percent completed.
With this development, Borres assured the Ilonggos that the PMO together with the international contractor, Daewoo E&C, are working double time to ensure that the long-awaited dream of the Ilonggos is now becoming a reality.
He also expressed his gratitude to the NIA top management headed by Acting Administrator Eddie Guillen and to President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. for their unconditional trust and unwavering support for the project.
Agriculture development awaits JRMP II operation
Agriculture boost specifically in the rice industry awaits as the JRMP II is projected to be operational by 2025.
With the provision of year-round irrigation water to 31,840 hectares of farmlands in the province of Iloilo, JRMP II aims to support the rice self-sufficiency target of the country leading to the government’s goal for agricultural development.
As emphasized by the NIA, the project is a much-needed multi-purpose irrigation project in the province and in the entire country in general.
To note, Western Visayas is the third rice producing region in the country and significantly increasing rice production will lead to better income for the farmers as well as boosting the agriculture sector.
This was recognized by no less than President Marcos himself when he approved the project restructuring request of the JRMP II in July 2023.
In its forthcoming operation, JRMP II is expected to increase rice production in the
province of Iloilo to 338,874 metric tons per year equivalent to a 71.54 percent increase from the current production of 197,545 metric tons.
On the other hand, the JRMP II offers a wide range of advantages as it will also augment the water and power supply need of the province and city of Iloilo through its bulk water and hydroelectric power components. An estimated volume of water equivalent to one cubic per second is expected to be allocated for bulk water supply and 6.6 megawatts of clean energy is expected to be generated from its hydroelectric power component. These components will be implemented through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP).
Situated in Calinog, the JRMP II will also usher inclusive rural development through the realization of its eco-cultural tourism, flood mitigation and inland fishery components.
These will significantly benefit the IP community in the upland area and the vast population in the lowland area of the project.
The flood component of the project has already exhibited its significant contribution during the onslaught of Typhoon “Paeng” in October 2022 as the unfinished Jalaur High Dam mitigated flooding by almost 71 percent thereby substantially reducing damages to property and lost of lives.
The unprecedented operation of the JRMP II will definitely bolster the water and food security of the Ilonggos as well as increase the farmers’ income./PN
