ILOILO CITY, Iloilo, Philippines — The biggest dam project outside of Luzon has made headway after the construction of its main dam started last month in Calinog town, Iloilo province.
The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) in Western Visayas region said work on the 109-meter-tall High Dam of the P11.2-billion Jalaur River Multi-Purpose Project II involving initial concreting began.
The tallest of the three dams, the High Dam serves as the reservoir which can store 250.7 million cubic meters of water intended to be used for irrigation, hydropower, bulk water, inland fishery and ecotourism, according to a NIA statement.
The project also includes afterbay and catch dams, a 6.6-megawatt hydropower plant and an 81-kilometer highline canal.
The NIA earlier assured that the project completion target in 2023 was on track with the start of operation set for the first quarter of 2024.
The project is funded by a $203-million loan agreement with the South Korean government through Korea Eximbank. The counterpart fund from the Philippine government amounts to P2.2 billion.
The late former President Benigno Aquino III led the groundbreaking for the project in February 2013 but initial construction began only in April 2019 after a delay of more than six years.