The government will start accepting bids for the Ilocos Norte-Ilocos Sur-Abra Irrigation Project by January 2025 after President Marcos, as chairman of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board, approved it, the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) said.

NIA Administrator Eduardo Guillen (PTV screenshot)

“For implementation na po kaagad ito, actually ito ay designed and build, so by January ay ikakasa na po namin ang bidding nito (This is for immediate implementation, actually this is a design and build, so by January we will start the bidding),” NIA Administrator Eduardo Guillen said during a recent Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing.

A locally funded P37.5-billion irrigation project, it will have a high dam in Abra, an afterbay dam in Nueve Era, and a transbasin tunnel and irrigation facilities.

“Usually po ito ay dapat limang taon ang construction nito, kaya lang puwedeng iksian ito ng kahit mga three to four years lamang kung simultaneous ang paggawa (Usually, the construction will take five years but we can reduce this to three to four years if the construction will be simultaneous),” Guillen said.

“Ibig sabihin may gumagawa sa high-dam, dito sa afterbay dam, sa irrigation facility at saka sa transbasin tunnel (This means construction of the high-dam, afterbay dam, irrigation facility, and transbasin tunnel will happen at the same time),” he explained.

The project will irrigate around 15,000 hectares, with a possible addition of 20 percent more with the implementation of the alternate wetting and drying technology.

The NIA official furthered that 32,600 families stand to benefit from it.

A project conceptualized during the time of President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., Guillen lauded the coordination between the provincial governments of Ilocos Norte and Abra.

Earlier, Marcos shared he had been aware of the project since his stint as Ilocos Norte governor, and cited its benefits to the provinces of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, and Abra.

The Chief Executive also pointed out the hydroelectrical power component of the project, fully aware that the previous stumbling block was Abra’s complaint that only Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur would benefit from the project.