DPWH taps Japanese aid vs floods

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is tapping the Japanese government for assistance in the implementation of three flood control projects located in Parañaque, Cavite and Davao.

In a statement issued yesterday, DPWH Secretary Mark Villar said the flood control projects to be undertaken with the Japanese government are the Parañaque Spillway Tunnel Project, the Cavite Industrial Area Flood Management Project and the Davao River Basin Flood Control Project.

The three projects were presented by Villar during the Third Philippines-Japan Joint Committee Meeting on Infrastructure Development and Economic Cooperation held earlier this week.

Villar said the DPWH, with the help of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), is doing the feasibility study for the 9.2-kilometer spillway, which is “expected to shorten flood inundation in the shoreline of Laguna de Bay and reduce flood damages in the area.”

The project, estimated to cost P10 billion, would include a 3.3-km tunnel. The implementation is expected to start in 2018.

The Cavite project is expected to protect some 7,000 homes or 556 hectares along the Cavite industrial area, which covers the Imus, San Juan and Canas river basins. The JICA loan for the project is “targeted to be approved by November,” Villar said.

The P2.23-billion Davao project will cover the Davao, Talomo and Matina rivers. The master plan and feasibility study for the Davao project is expected to start in the first quarter of next year, Villar said.