ILOILO City – The construction of the P11.2-billion Jalaur River Multipurpose Project (JRMP) Phase II in Calinog, Iloilo has commenced.
The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) which oversees the project received a “notice to proceed” last week, according to Administrator Ricardo Visaya on Monday.
The Korea Export-Import Bank, which would fund the project, announced it concurred on the contract agreement between NIA and contractor Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd.
“That was already the signal for Daewoo to start the construction,” said Visaya.
He confirmed that the contractor had started mobilizing its personnel and equipment.
JRMP Phase II includes the construction of a 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.
The construction of these components would be simultaneous, according to NIA Region 6 manager Engr. Gerardo Corsiga.
But while the construction has commenced, Visaya said, the groundbreaking wound have to wait for around a month.
NIA hopes to include it in President Rodrigo Duterte’s January 2019 itinerary.
The groundbreaking was initially announced to be in June this year then moved to October but was postponed due to the President’s busy schedule.
Once completed, the first large-scale reservoir dam outside of Luzon will provide uninterrupted irrigation water supply to 32,000 hectares of farmland, benefit more than 24,000 farmers and increase annual production of rice to 300,000 metric tons from 140,000 in Iloilo.
The project will also generate approximately 17,000 local jobs equivalent to P1.3 billion in basic wages per year.
JRMP was first implemented by NIA in the 1960s after the fourth Congress passed Republic Act 2651, which provided for the construction of the JRMP in Iloilo. Its first phase was completed in 1980s but its second phase was derailed for over five decades due to lack of funds./PN
