President Marcos has inaugurated the Sulvec Small Reservoir Irrigation Project (Sulvec SRIP) in Ilocos Norte which would also be used for tourism.
Aside from serving its purpose to elevate the state of agriculture in the province, Marcos said it would also be used to house facilities for recreation and tourism.
"The NIA (National Irrigation Administration) is also planning to develop the Sulvec SRIP to accommodate a hydropower plant [and] facilities for recreation and tourism," Marcos said in his speech during the inauguration ceremony on Friday, July 19.
The President explained that the lake within the reservoir project is a "potential tourist spot," saying that the government should also capitalize from it.
"In fact, I was looking around. One of the things the we discovered when we do these things. While we have a dam, when we put a dam and there's a lake, immediately it is a potential tourist spot, and that’s something that we can think about," he said.
According to the President, the P940.46-million project includes the Sulvec Earthfill Dam—the first impounding dam to be constructed in the province.
"It boasts a capacity of over one million cubic meters, if translated into practical terms, that means a generous supply of water that can irrigate more than 700 hectares of agricultural land in 10 barangays here in Pasuquin," he said.
More than 1,000 farmers will benefit from the project, he added.
Aside from storing water for irrigation, two hectares of the dam’s reservoir will be dedicated to aquaculture.
"And besides, what we can add to the hydroelectric power and the aquaculture that we are going to get from this Earthfill Dam is also the... Magpalutang tayo ng solar na --- para mayroon tayong power, para nga kung makapag-develop tayo ng tourist destination dito, mayroon na tayong pagkukuhanan ng kuryente (We will install solar power facilities so that in case we develop this as a tourist destination, there will be a source of electricity),"Marcos said.