ILOILO CITY – The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) announced that the three separate dams of the multi-billion mega dam project in Iloilo province have been structurally completed.
THE Jalaur High Dam, the biggest of the three dams being built in Calinog town, Iloilo province. (JRMP-II)
The Jalaur High Dam, the biggest of the three dams in the Jalaur River Multipurpose Project Stage II (JRMP-II) in Calinog town, reached its design height of 109 meters or 194 meters above sea level this week.
The Project Management Office (PMO) of the NIA JRMP-II and Korean contractor Daewoo E & C poured the final batch of concrete at the spillway bridge of Jalaur High Dam.
“This indicated that the structure (Jalaur High Dam) is already substantially completed,” said NIA-6 Regional Manager Jonel Borres.
The Afterbay Dam was completed last February while the Alibunan Catch Dam was finished in December 2021.
Borres said that remaining works include reservoir preparation, tunnel plugging, preparation of stilling basin, and electromechanical works for the operation phase.
The JRMP-II, which was a priority project lobbied by former Ilonggo Sen. Franklin Drilon, has been under construction for over a decade.
The JRMP-II was supposed to have been completed during the Aquino administration but faced several setbacks.
The initial budget for the JRMP-II was P11.2 billion, of which P8.9 billion was loaned from the Export-Import Bank of Korea.
This year, the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. approved an additional P8.4 billion to finish construction.