LEGAZPI CITY - The Department of Science and Technology in Bicol (DOST-5) through its Catanduanes provincial office will soon build desalination facilities that will provide clean, potable water to two barangays.
In an interview on Friday, Marie Grace Molina, DOST-Catanduanes director, said their regional office is allocating PHP2.9 million for the development of a desalination project in Pandan town.
"The project is under the Community Empowerment thru Science and Technology (CEST) program and Pandan is one of our CEST communities in Catanduanes, aside from that, the beneficiary barangay has a scarcity in water supply," Molina said.
She said the municipality of Pandan has set aside a counterpart fund of PHP1.5 million for the project.
"The project will be an eco-enterprise to provide funds for the maintenance of the facility. The equipment will provide low-cost clean water compared to water refilling stations which are very expensive," she added.
Asked when the project will materialize, Molina said the construction will start this quarter.
"But we will ensure that the project will be implemented sooner," she added.
Aside from the desalination project, she said granulator facilities for a cassava farmers' organization will also be put-up in Pandan. (PNA)
