First district Rep. Celso Lobregat asked Public Works Secretary Mark Villar to help finance the conduct of the PhP174-million feasibility study for the proposed multi-billion water impounding dam project in this city.
Lobregat said Monday that Villar’s approval to his request would pave the way for the national government to help fund the feasibility study of the proposed PhP30 billion water dam project.
Lobregat said the Zamboanga City Water District (ZCWD) and the city government have committed PhP15 million and PhP10 million, respectively, for the conduct of the feasibility study, but the bulk of the funds will likely come from DPWH.
“We are hoping to get the appropriate funding for the feasibility study to commence,” he added.
The project was proposed in 1996 following a study of the World Bank, which suggested the need for this city to have a water impounding dam.
Last year, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded Water Security for Resilient Economic Growth and Stability (Be Secure) conducted a pre-feasibility study and identified the Tumaga River, which is located near Pulong Bato, as the “best site for the water impounding dam project.”
Lobregat said the increasing population coupled with the threat of climate change, the current water supply of this city is not enough.
“The City of Zamboanga suffered heavily from the effects of the 2015 and 2016 El Niño phenomenon with pronounced and acute water shortages and water rationing. There was also an outbreak of acute gastroenteritis and other water borne diseases and millions of pesos in damages in the agriculture sector,” he said.
The House Committee on Public Works and Highways chaired by Lobregat has approved House Resolution No. 10 last May 24 for the National Economic Development Authority to include the proposed PhP30-billion worth “Zamboanga City Impounding Dam project” as one of the big-ticket projects of the national government.
Meanwhile, Mayor Isabelle Climaco-Salazar said her administration supports the proposed dam, saying the city government will back the “conduct of the full-blown feasibility study for the project.”
The proposed water impounding dam will have a height of a 90 meters with a reservoir volume of 64-million cubic meters, and could generate annual revenue of P178-million. (DWTW/PNA)
