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Iloilo’s P11.2-B dam project to break ground in June

By Perla Lena

March 2, 2018, 6:45 pm

ILOILO CITY -- Ilonggo Senator Franklin M. Drilon on Friday announced that Iloilo’s Jalaur River Multi-Purpose (JRMP) dam Stage II project is all set for groundbreaking this June.

The construction, which will be undertaken by the Daewoo Engineering and Construction Company Limited, is expected to last for 46 months and will be fully operational by June 2022.

Drilon made the announcement in a press conference here after a meeting with the new Korean Ambassador to the Philippines Han Dong-Man couple of weeks ago where they discussed the progress of the JRMP dam project.

“He assured me and the Korea government assured me that we will start the actual construction of the dam this coming June of this year,” he said.

The project will be funded by the Economic Development Cooperation Fund or the Korean Exim Bank at USD208 million dollars or equivalent to almost PHP11.212 billion. It will have an interest of .15 percent, payable in 30 years with a grace period of 10 years.

Drilon said that the interest is so far the “lowest that we can get” although it is almost similar to Official Development Assistance given the term.

The contract preparation for the project is ongoing and it is expected to be signed this month.

“There are no major issues left. It’s just a matter of going through and seeing the contract properly executed,” he said.

Once completed, the project is expected to boost rice production in the province by providing year-round irrigation to some 32,000 hectares of rice land.

It will also solve water supply problem in Iloilo with its 87,000 cubic meters of water daily and to produce 6.6 megawatts of electricity. It will also bring in 80 kilometers of new service roads.

“I am confident this will bring progress to our province, and more importantly it will increase the income of our farmers tremendously so that there will be very substantial poverty alleviation in our province,” he said.

JRMP, which is the biggest dam to be constructed outside of Luzon, will be constructed in the town of Calinog, Iloilo. (PNA)

Photo by Perla Lena 

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