ILOILO CITY – The P11.2-billion mega dam project in Iloilo province is more than 65 percent complete as of the end of March.
THE Jalaur Afterbay Dam is one of the three dams of the Jalaur River Multipurpose Project-Stage II (JRMP-II) in Calinog town, Iloilo province. (JRMP-II PIO)
The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) has confirmed that two of the three dams in the municipality of Calinog that are part of the
Jalaur River Multipurpose Project-Stage II (JRMP-II) are substantially complete.
Completed are the Alibunan River Catch Dam and the Jalaur Afterbay Dam.
“These dams will provide irrigation water to farmlands in Zone 1 of the project and regulate water from the impounding dam to the high line canal once operational,” said Steve Cordero, JRMP-II watershed management chief and spokesperson.
Construction of the Jalaur High Dam, the biggest of the three dams, has reached 84.1 meters and will be 109 meters once completed.
“The high dam will serve as an impounding dam with an estimated capacity of 250.70 million cubic meters for irrigation and bulk water supply,” said Cordero.
The Jalaur High Dam also has turbines for hydroelectric power as well as a flood control component.
The 80-kilometer-high line canal along Calinog and the towns of Lambunao, Janiuay, and Cabatuan is 58.75 percent complete.
Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd. from South Korea is the main contractor for the project pushed by former Sen. Franklin M. Drilon.
The project is funded in part by an P8.9-billion loan from the South Korean government.