Sunday, June 26, 2011

Jalaur River Project

MANILA, Philippines — The government is negotiating with two Korean firms a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) agreement for the $338-million Jalaur River Multi-purpose Project (JRMP) which will open 12,000 hectares of new irrigated area in Iloilo.


The Department of Agriculture (DA) already filed last March with the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) its BOT project plan for the JRMP.

“This is being pushed by the national government. Currently we’re looking at two Korean firms for a possible BOT. It’s in the works yet. The Korean firms have yet to come here for a possible agreement, but I cannot yet divulge those that are interested until it’s already there,” said Undersecretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat in an interview.

The JRMP will be a supplement to the existing five irrigation systems that currently cover 22,340 hectares, bringing total irrigated area to 34,340 hectares.

At the same time, it will generate 11.5 megawatt of hydro-electric power. It will also supply domestic water for the locality which is soon projected to suffer from water shortage.

“The envisions the construction of 106-meter Jalaur hardfill dam and 46-meter Ulian hardfill dam and three catch dams including highline canal that would connect these dams to the existing irrigation systems,” according to a JRMP primer. The multi-purpose project, a program under the national government’s Public Private Partnership (PPP), will be implemented by the National Irrigation Administration over 12 years from 2012 to 2020.

DA is updating a feasibility study (FS) for the project which was earlier completed in May 2010.

Puyat said the completion of the FS will be significant in the financing of the project even as other types of financing may be obtained for the project.


source: PNA

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