Priority flood control projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways continue to go on full blast to help reduce flood risks in Northern Mindanao.
Three (3) contract packages of the P8.55 Billion DPWH Flood Risk Management Project for Cagayan De Oro River are moving into implementation stage to mitigate flood risk in Cagayan de Oro River Basin.
In an inspection with officials of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) led by the Philippines’ Chief Representative Yoshio Wada, DPWH Undersecretary Emil K. Sadain of the Unified Project Management Office (UPMO) Operations and Technical Services said that the Flood Risk Management Project for Cagayan de Oro River will expand protected flood prone areas and strengthen the resiliency to climate change and other hydrometeorological hazards of the communities along the Cagayan de Oro River stretch.
With funding from Official Development Assistance of the Government of Japan through JICA, the Flood Risk Management Project for Cagayan de Oro River features innovative technology and design approach based on a 25-year flood return period for resilient flood management to protect an area of about 290 hectares and 18,100 structures after full completion in 2023.
In the past, flashfloods brought by upstream rains reaching the downstream of Cagayan de Oro River have affected thousands of families in Cagayan de Oro City and destroyed not just properties but agricultural areas and public infrastructure.
Construction of flood protection measures which is being implemented by the Office of Undersecretary Sadain and UPMO Flood Control Management Cluster under Project Director Patrick Gatan will prevent flashfloods from recurring and contribute to the sustainable and stable economic development in Cagayan de Oro City.
The project involves the construction of 11,928 meters earth dike, 3,259 meters concrete flood wall including 1,449 meters reinforced concrete/masonry slope protection, 2,756 meters of new road and raising of existing road for evacuation, installation of three (3) steel slide gates and 19 flap gates, improvement of Kagayan River, and construction of retarding basin, concrete box/pipe culverts and headwall and drainage outlets.
On July 9, Japanese Ambassador Koji Haneda, DPWH Secretary Mark A. Villar, JICA Philippines Chief Representative Yoshio Wada, DPWH Undersecretary Sadain, Misamis Oriental Governor Yevgeny Vincente B. Emano, and other officials led the inauguration ceremony of P778-million Tagoloan River Basin Flood Control Project also located in Region 10.
The project aims to mitigate flood damage in the high-risk vulnerable areas of Tagoloan River which flows to an important industrial zone in the lower basin of Tagoloan.