Marcos wants solar projects for Magat Dam rehabilitation

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. visits Ilagan City on Monday (June 10) where he distributed P200 million to farmers and fishermen whose livelihoods were hit by El Niño. The distribution took place at the Ilagan Community Center. The President also inaugurated a solar-powered pump irrigation project at Barangay Cabaruan in Quirino town, Isabela. (Photo by Villamor Visaya Jr.)

QUIRINO, Isabela — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has proposed the rehabilitation of the four-decade-old Magat Dam in Ramon town in this province as he shared plans to incorporate solar-powered facilities for its modernization.

Marcos proposed this at the opening of the P65.77-million solar-powered irrigation pump project, noting the need to repair Magat Dam, which his father ordered to be built in 1978 and completed in 1982.

The President said he was “honored to follow in the footsteps” of his father and create similar projects intended for farmers and their families.

READ: Marcos eyeing solar-powered irrigation for farmers amid El Niño

He urged the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) to install more solar-powered irrigation facilities with power generation capacities similar to Magat Dam.

Earlier, Mr. Marcos inaugurated the Cabaruan Solar-Powered Pump Irrigation Project (SPIP), one of the largest solar-powered pump irrigation systems in the country.

This project can irrigate 350 hectares of rice fields, benefiting 237 farmers.

Constructed by the NIA under the Magat River Integrated Irrigation System (MARIIS) from July 6, 2023 to February this year, the system features 1,056 solar panels producing 739,200 watts of power for its two submersible pumps, each discharging 12,800 gallons per minute.

The President also announced the completion of 82 solar-powered pump irrigation projects in the country in 2023. INQ