Flood control upgrade project to break ground this month
THE DEPARTMENT of Finance (DoF) said the government expects to break ground on the Metro Manila flood control project this month.
“The government is looking to start the $500-million Metro Manila Flood Control Management Project this January following the approval by the boards of the World Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) of the co-financing for the project,” the DoF said in a statement.
Of the total project cost, $207.603 million will be sourced from the World Bank following the approval of its board on Sept. 28, 2017.
The AIIB on the other hand will provide another $ 207.603 million — its first loan to the Philippines — which was approved by its board on Sept. 27.
The Philippine government meanwhile will provide the remaining $84.794 million.
The DoF said that it signed the loan agreements with both the World Bank and the AIIB on Dec. 19.
The project aims to improve flood management in selected areas of Metro Manila by constructing new and modernizing existing pumping stations and their supporting infrastructure, and improving solid waste management practices within the vicinity of drainage systems.
The first phase of the project includes the rehabilitation of 36 pumping stations in Metro Manila and the construction of 20 new ones in Manila, Pasay, Pasig, Mandaluyong, San Juan, Caloocan, Valenzuela and Quezon City.
Many of Metro Manila’s existing pumping stations were built in the 1970s and have become ineff icient and underperforming.
The Department of Public Works and Highways ( DPWH) and the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) are the implementing agencies for the project, with completion expected by 2024.
The project forms part of the flood control Master Plan that was approved by the government in 2012, following the extensive flooding caused by typhoon Ondoy in 2009.
The master plan proposed a set of measures to effectively manage major flood events, which include reducing flooding from river systems that run through the metropolis, by building a dam on the upper Marikina River catchment area in order to reduce peak river flows entering Metro Manila during typhoons and other periods of extreme rainfall.
It includes the elimination of long-term flooding on the flood plain of Laguna de Bay; improvement of urban drainage; and improvement of flood forecasting, early warning systems, and community- based flood risk management.
In 2015, the World Bank obtained a $ 7- million grant from the Australia-World Bank Philippines Development Trust Fund and Policy and Human Resources Development Trust Fund of Japan, to finance studies and designs of other interventions for the next phase of implementation of the master plan. —