| Work Detail |
Officials from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) officially launched on Thursday, March 13, 2025 the consultative meeting for the proposed Central Luzon-Pampanga River Floodway Project and the Integrated Flood Resilience and Adaptation 2 (InFRA 2) Project that focuses on three (3) major river basins in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The kick-off meeting, led by DPWH Unified Project Management Office – Flood Control Management Cluster (UPMO-FCMC) Project Director Ramon A. Arriola III and ADB Principal Water Resources Specialist Eric Quincieu, covered discussion on key project features, financing, and recommendations ensuring alignment of the proposed programs and activities during the consultation mission to be facilitated by ADB Study Team. The ADB Mission aims to confirm the project scope, outputs, and ensure alignment with overall government priorities following the project preparation activities under the InFRA 2 Project which covers the Apayao-Abulug River Basin in Apayao and Cagayan; Jalaur River Basin in Iloilo; and Buayan-Malungon River Basin in Sarangani and South Cotabato and the Central Luzon-Pampanga River Floodway Project, incorporating comprehensive and advanced Flood Risk Management Plan (FRM) and Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), optimizing applicable nature-based solutions in the Detailed Engineering Design (DED). Key officials and representatives from DPWH Bureaus and Services were also present at the meeting, as well as participants from identified regional offices such as CAR, Region 2, Region 6, and Region 12, and partner agencies including the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Philippine Space Agency (PhilSa), and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). According to UPMO-FCMC Project Director Ramon A. Arriola III, this ADB Mission further reinforces the extensive and continuous flood control efforts of the DPWH, in line with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. instruction to Secretary Manuel M. Bonoan to expedite vital flood mitigation projects across the country, integrating comprehensive water management and improving water impounding facilities, to combat recurring flooding and help foster community resilience. The InFRA 2 project with a total cost of P800-Million through the Infrastructure Preparation and Innovation Facility (IPIF) financing aims to provide improved strategic flood risk management planning on the three (3) major river basins by constructing flood control infrastructure and strengthening community-based flood risk management, benefitting more than 145,700 people. Meanwhile, the Central Luzon-Pampanga River Floodway Project is focused on reinforcing the climate adaptation of the Pampanga River Basin and disaster risk reduction at the local levels, to aid approximately 356,000 residents, particularly in Pampanga and Bulacan through the development of a 100-year floodway channel, utilizing the San Antonio Swamp as a returning pond. Further, the project will include structural interventions complemented by nonstructural measures such as the improvement of hydrometeorological data acquisition for better planning and early warning measures. In his briefing, UPMO-FCMC Project Manager Michael T. Alpasan said that the 16-month Detailed Engineering Design (DED) of the InFRA 2 Project under the ADB Loan No.4424-PHI is targeted to start in May 2025 under the consultancy services of Saman Corporation in joint venture with ISAN Corporation, KCIEng Co., Ltd., and Kyong-ho Engineering & Architects Co., Ltd. and in association with DCCD Engineering Corporation and Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines. A separate comprehensive water management plans and strategies for each of the three (3) river basins by conducting study review of secondary information, multi-stakeholders consultations, site visits, initial geologic and water resources assessments to be incorporated in the Flood Risk Management Master Plan is also on-going under consultancy services of Egis, INCLAMM and KECC. Additionally, with the Notice of Award (NOA) recently issued on March 5, 2025, the Central Luzon-Pampanga River Floodway Project is in the final stage of contract preparations for the DED phase under the CTI Engineering International in JV with Nippon Koei Co., Ltd. and in association with Philkoei International, Inc., Woodfields Consultants, Inc. and Kyong-Ho Engineering and Architects Co. Ltd., and CTI Pilipinas, Inc. DPWH reiterates the importance of strengthening collaboration and coordination with its partner agencies including PAGASA, DENR, NIA, PhilSA, and DOE, among others, in the overall implementation of these projects that play a crucial importance in addressing the flooding problem across the country and ultimately, foster a climate resilient nation. |
